Split The Earth In Two Quake
by scarecrow1000154
Summary: In a far off village away from the Capital, a boy obtains an Imperial Arm that was lost years ago known as Quake. Shortly after, his life is changed forever and he's forced to leave his village due to a terrible accident. Where will he go? Who will he side with, the Empire, General Esdeath, or Night Raid? And what are the abilities this lost Imperial Arm possesses?
1. His Home

One warm afternoon, there's a crowd of people surrounding a brawl. A boy, roughly eighteen, is fighting a grown man with bulging muscles that's over eight feet tall. The boy hits the bleeding man's face one last time, and he's out cold. The crowd cheers in amazement as the man's body hits the ground with a thud and the boy raises his bloodied fist in the air, claiming his victory. A man dressed like a sheriff walks to the center as people move out of his way when they see him coming.

"Starting fights again, Minazuki?", the sheriff asks as he glares at the boy.

"Coming to finally arrest me? I guess that's the downside of growing up.", the boy says with a grin on his face.

The sheriff starts to reach for his handcuffs before men from the crowd say, "Come on Sheriff, the guy was askin' for it."

"Yeah, that guy was a real ass!", a woman shouts out from the crowd. The crowd gets louder and louder with their attempts to keep the Sheriff from arresting the boy.

"Pipe it down! I'm not arrestin' him!", the Sheriff shouts forcefully. He pulls an envelope from his back pocket with 'Minazuki' written across the front in a fancy font. "Old Man Yata told me to bring this to ya. Now, I understand it's your birthday 'n all, but don't be causin' so much trouble. It's bad enough I got all these Imperial Soldiers to deal with.", the Sheriff says as he hands the boy his letter.

Minazuki starts to open the envelope as the Sheriff disperses the crowd. The letter seems to be written on fairly old paper and it reads, " _Minazuki, come to the Dragon Shrine and obtain your fortune._ "

" _I guess the stories were true. Hopefully the other story is true._ ", he thinks to himself as he folds up the letter and puts it in his pocket. He grabs his shirt off the ground and starts heading up the winding stairs along the mountain side leading to the Dragon Shrine. As he puts his shirt on, he reaches the gates to the shrine where an old man is waiting patiently, looking off to the horizon. "I got your letter, are the stories really true?", Minazuki asks the old man.

"I had... a vision...", the old man says as he turns to the boy.

"A vision?", Minazuki asks as he gives the elder a confused glance.

"Come, there's much to tell.", the old man says before starting to walk inside the shrine.

Minazuki follows him as he asked and says, "What kind of vision did you have Old Man? Was it me becoming king? Oh, maybe me becoming a professional boxer and winning the Imperial Championship? Or maybe, do I grow a mustache?"

The old man stops in the middle of the room and says, "No, I'm afraid it wasn't anything of the sort."

"Then what was it? It must've been pretty important for you to sick the Sheriff on me.", Minazuki asks as he walks up to the old man.

"There's a terrible storm coming, one that will cause this little village of ours to be engulfed by a river, but no ordinary river.", the old man says vaguely.

"A storm? There's going to be a flood!? We have to warn the others! I bet if we get started now we'll-", Minazuki begins to say but gets cut off as the old man gives him a cold, worried look.

The old man looks away from the boy before explaining, "It's not that kind of flood, child."

Minazuki turns to him with a concerned look and asks, "Then what kind of storm are you talking about?"

The old man turns to him, a much more serious glare on the old man's face as he says, "One that will rain blood down upon all of us, lining the road with bodies of men, women and children alike. And with the blood will come a freezing wind. Thus it is foretold in my vision."

"Rain blood? And a freezing wind? You must really be out of it then, Old Man.", Minazuki says, doubting the old man's fortunes.

"All of my fortunes have come true, and so will this one. There is no avoiding it, but that wasn't all that I saw.", the Old Man says as he continues deeper into the shrine. Minazuki follows him into the sacred room with a giant dragon skull.

* * *

"Long ago, the elder of this once great village captured a dragon and tamed it to be his servant. He was a great man, and my great great grandfather.", the Old Man says with a slight smile. "And with that dragon, he entrusted his greatest secret.", the old man continues before pressing a hidden button, disguised as a brick in the wall. The dragon skull opens, revealing a hidden path through the mouth. The old man walks through the skull and says, "Follow, and receive your destiny."

"My destiny?", Minazuki asks as he follows the old man. He follows the Old Man through what seems like a deep and winding tunnel. When the Old Man stops, they see an open dragon's claw holding what look like gauntlets made of dragon scales and leather with a gem in the right gauntlet.

"This is his long forgotten secret. Boy, have you heard of weapons called, Imperial Arms?", the Old Man says as he walks over to the gauntlets.

"Yeah, they're supposed to be super strong weapons made from even stronger Danger Beasts by one of the former Emperors, right?", Minazuki replies, earning a quick nod from the elder.

"Correct, and you're looking at one right before your very eyes. This is Split The Earth In Two; Quake, the legendary gauntlets forged from the scales and hide of The Ancient Earth Dragon with its heart as the core. These gauntlets were used by a mythical man who went by Shoryu, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. His gauntlets have been hidden away here for generations. This Imperial Arm was considered to be one of the most dangerous Imperial Arms created.", Yata explains as he picks up the gauntlets. He turns and hands the gauntlets over to Minazuki, "With these gauntlets, you'll avenge our small village and bring an end to all of this." Minazuki just looks down at the gauntlets and then back to the Old Man with a confused look before the Old Man says, "Go on, put them on." " _He'll see, my fortunes are never wrong._ ", the old man thinks as Minazuki goes to put on the gauntlets. He slides them on his hands and they resize to fit his hands perfectly.

"T-this is amazing! These things are for real!", Minazuki shouts in amazement before growing silent. "Y-your fortune... It told you that these things would work for me? You saw this coming?", Minazuki asks slightly nervous, earning another nod from Yata.

"Yes.", Yata bluntly replies, causing the boy to close his eyes and rub his temples.

"How long?", Minazuki asks as he looks over to the old man.

"The trees in my vision, they were starting to bloom with life. Based on that, I'd guess we have about...one month.", the Old Man replies as he starts to walk out of the tunnel.

"A-A month!? How am I-", Minazuki begins to ask before the old man shouts, "Enough! You'll figure out a way. You must..."

"You should also keep this conversation just between the two of us. If the villagers were told, they'd go into a panic.", Yata adds as he walks past Minazuki as he's left dazed by what he's just been told.

* * *

They're heading out of the tunnel and as they reach the shrine they hear a loud explosion come from outside. "Boy, go check on the others! This can't be good.", Yata orders as he points to the door, which the boy follows as he rushes to the door.

Minazuki rushes outside to see smoke coming from the village below. He rushes down to see what happened and sees a group of soldiers surrounding the Sheriff and the Blacksmith. "Looks like we're in a real bind this time, huh?", the Blacksmith says surprisingly calm. "You don't say? There's at least twenty more of these guys here, and I'm outta bullets.", the Sheriff whispers, not lowering his gun for even a moment. The soldiers are quickly cut down in a flash and as their bodies hit the ground, they see a man dressed in an all white kimono sheathing his sword.

"This must be pretty serious for you to get off your lazy butt, Chief Izunaga.", Minazuki notes as he walks over to them.

Izunaga looks over to the Village entrance and sees a few soldiers retreating. "They're retreating, we need to formulate a plan. Ikashi, Toda, are you both unharmed?", Izunaga says before turning to the Sheriff and the Blacksmith.

"We're fine, but it looks like we might be bitin off more than we can chew...", the Sheriff says with a worried look as he holsters his pistol.

"No way, we need to do this! If we don't stand up for ourselves, what will our ancestors say in the afterlife!? You need to look at the bigger picture, Ikashi!", the Blacksmith says as he puts down his giant hammer.

"What was that all about exactly?", Minazuki asks as he walks over to the chief.

"Those were soldiers sent to collect overdue taxes for the Imperial City.", Izunaga explains, checking each corpse to be sure they're all dead.

"We didn't anticipate them arrivin' so soon. Toda didn't even have enough time to finish makin' the mines we were gonna plant to ambush them.", Ikashi adds as he looks over to the blacksmith.

"I ended up usin' what I had as grenades. It was awesome, you shoulda seen it kid!", Toda says as he wraps one arm around Minazuki and points to the craters in the ground.

"So, what did the Old Ma-", Ikashi begins to ask before Izunaga notices the gauntlets and says, "Well by God, they accepted you."

"What are you talking about Izunaga?", Toda asks with a confused look.

"This boy is wielding an Imperial Arm.", Izunaga says as he points to the gauntlets.

"An Imperial Arm? But, where did he get it?", Ikashi asks with a suspicious look.

"Does it matter!? We just found our ace in the hole! Those Imperial bastards won't know what's coming!", Toda says enthusiastically, a large grin forming on the burly man's hairy face.

"Don't get too antsy, he hasn't learned how to use it yet.", they hear Yata say from above them. They look up to see the old man looking down at them from the edge of the shrine. "Izunaga, you'll be this boy's mentor. Teach him all you know, he'll need it.", the old man orders before heading back into the shrine.

"Yes sir, right away.", Izunaga replies with a bow. He then turns to Minazuki and says, "Meet me in the training yard north of the village in half an hour. We're starting your training immediately."

As Izunaga walks off, a girl with long green hair braided down the length of her back walks up to Minazuki. She's roughly Minazuki's age and wearing brown leather armor and pants with matching gauntlets. "Minazuki! Are you ready for your birthday spar with me? I can really feel myself improving.", the girl says as she looks up to him.

"Actually, I'll have to pass on this one, Phi. The Old Man wants me to train with Izunaga for a while. He gave me this Imperial Arm and everything.", Minazuki replies as he shows her the gauntlets.

"Oh, you're training with him now? I guess you're really moving up in the world then. And you got an Imperial Arm too? Aren't there like, less than fifty of those things in existence?", she says as she's fascinated by the gauntlets and the shiny gem in the right one.

"Yeah, you should ask him if you can join in. We can get stronger like we always wanted to.", Minazuki suggests as he starts heading to the training yard.

She nods her head and replies with, "I'll ask the Village Elder if I should. He's never wrong.", before heading up to the shrine, waving back to him as she rushes up the stairs.

* * *

When Minazuki finally reaches the training yard, he sees Izunaga meditating with his sword in his lap. "You're here, good. Now your training can begin.", Izunaga says as he gets up and grabs his sheathed sword with his left hand. "Think fast.", Izunaga says before hitting a lever with the sheathed sword, triggering a plethora of traps. Minazuki manages to dodge over a leg sweeping log trap as Izunaga says, "This is your first trial, evasion." "Dodge these as long as you can. This will help increase your reaction time and ability to dodge the enemy's attacks.", Izunaga explains as Minazuki continues to dodge the many traps. Minazuki continues to dodge traps for ten whole minutes before three traps happen to ensnare him, knocking him across the ground and into a nearby tree. "You did pretty good for a novice fighter. Let's move on to another exercise.", Izunaga says as he pulls the lever, stopping the traps.

"Not even giving me a break in between these things? Damn...", Minazuki says as he lifts himself off the ground.

"There isn't time for rest. Yata told me about his vision. We need to make sure you're prepared to do what necessary to protect this village.", Izunaga says as he picks up a wooden sword. "I want you to use those gauntlets of yours to block my attacks. This might just be a wooden sword, but anything can become a deadly weapon if wielded by a master.", Izunaga says before taking his draw stance.

"Alright, an actual fight! Let's do this!", Minazuki says, excited to be in another fight. Izunaga's attacks are as quick as they are accurate, but Minazuki is still able to react fast enough to block them all. As he continues to force the chief back, Minazuki starts to feel something in his feet, like a slight tingling feeling.

"Don't forget, always expect the unexpected!", Izunaga shouts before hitting the ground, sending dirt into Minazuki's eye's. " _If what Yata says is true, this shouldn't be a problem for him._ ", Izunaga thinks as he pulls his weapon back to strike him down. With his eyes full of dirt, Minazuki couldn't see anything, yet he could still feel where Izunaga and his wooden blade are. As the wooden blade is about to hit Minazuki straight on the top of his head, Minazuki catches it with his gauntlet before punching Izunaga in the stomach. Izunaga drops to his knees before gasping for air from the powerful punch. "So this is the power of an Imperial Arm!?", Izunaga says as he tries to regain his composure.

"What the hell was that!? I could see you, but my eyes were closed the whole time!", Minazuki shouts as he wipes the dirt from his eyes with his shirt.

"That was one of the abilities passed down through your Imperial Arm. It's like a sixth sense that allows you to see objects through vibrations they send through the ground.", Izunaga explains as he gets to his feet. "It seems like your Imperial Arm is helping you adapt to it easier and quickly figure out its abilities.", Izunaga says as he looks at the gauntlets. He then turns his gaze to a large rock on the edge of the training grounds and says, "You see that rock, see if you can make it move, but without touching it."

"Without touching it? How?", Minazuki asks with a baffled expression on his face.

"Terrakinesis. Those gauntlets are made from scales from the Ancient Earth Dragon of legend and that gem inside is made from its heart. This allows the user to manipulate the earth around them like it once did.", Izunaga explains as the boy looks down at the gauntlets, seeing the mysterious aura radiating off of them. Minazuki begins to focus on the rock and it begins to vibrate violently. "Good, now try to move it.", Izunaga says sternly. Minazuki lifts his hand and the rock goes up with it.

Minazuki's amazed by his new ability and starts to freely move the rock around without any effort while saying, "This is amazing! So this is the power of an Imperial Arm!"

"Indeed, Imperial Arms are impressive weapons, but they do take a lot of mental energy to properly use so maybe you shouldn't be going too overboard with that.", Izunaga says as he walks over to Minazuki and puts his hand on his shoulder.

Minazuki drops the rock and says, "What? I feel fine. What else can I do with this thing?"

"Let's just focus on these two abilities for now. That way you don't branch out too quickly.", Izunaga suggests, trying to get the boy to focus. Minazuki does as he says and simply focuses on these two new abilities for now. He trains for the rest of the day and into the night, trying to push his Terrakinesis and sensing wildlife in the nearby forest with a blindfold on. Once they finish their training, Izunaga gives him a duffel bag to keep supplies in, like food, water, equipment, etc.

* * *

When he gets home, he finds his father and younger brother waiting for him. "I'm home, you guys miss me?", Minazuki asks with his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Big Brother!", the little brother shouts as he runs over to him with a smile. He hugs Minazuki's leg while saying, "We heard the good news from the Village Elder! You're training even harder than you usually do, right?"

Minazuki ruffles his hair while saying, "You bet little bro. Working with Izunaga is way harder than anything I've been doing so far."

"So, Izunaga is training you, huh? He used to be a pretty good bounty hunter back in our day. He's gonna give you hell if you don't give it one hundred and ten percent you know.", his father says before taking a sip from his cup.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm aiming to go beyond one hundred percent of my ability. I'll do my best to one day get on his level and protect everyone!", Minazuki says as he clenches his fist and a fire seems to ignite in his eyes.

"I want to train too! I want to help Big Brother protect our village! Everyone else too!", his little brother shouts gleefully.

"That's my boy. Now, if you really want to protect everyone, you'll need to get some rest. Izunaga was probably going easy on you today, so you better be prepared to be pushed to your breaking point tomorrow, Minazuki.", his father says as he gets up from his chair and pats Minazuki on his shoulder. Minazuki nods and heads to his room as his brother and father follow suit.


	2. His Loss

After almost a month of training with Izunaga, Minazuki has a firm understanding of his Imperial Arm and his natural abilities are on a whole new level. They're in the middle of their last training session when Minazuki manages to knock the sword right out of Izunaga's hands with a powerful punch. "Marvelous! Now let's see if you can best me in hand-to-hand combat!", Izunaga shouts as he starts dodging Minazuki's attacks. It doesn't take long for Minazuki to shift the ground from under Izunaga's feet and give himself an opening to attack.

He holds his fist an inch from Izunaga's face with a grin before saying, "Looks like I win again, Teacher."

Izunaga smiles and says, "It seems you have. Well done, my student. You've grown quite well in just a few weeks."

"You think so? I didn't even notice.", Minazuki replies jokingly, cracking his knuckles as he prepares for round two of their match.

"Don't get so full of yourself after beating an old man like myself. If I were a few years younger and had an Imperial Arm, this could've turned out very different.", Izunaga says as he gets up and cracks his back.

"So, what about Phi's training? Is she still improving?", Minazuki asks, seeing that his teacher isn't up for anymore practice for today.

"Phi? She's doing well, but she isn't quite on our level. I bet she'd be able to beat Ikashi in a fist fight though.", Izunaga says with a slight smirk on his face. "She hasn't picked out a weapon for herself yet, but she's very adept at the general rules of combat.", Izunaga adds as he picks up his sword and sheathes it.

"That's a shame. She's always been a good fighter, but she never was good at making up her mind.", Minazuki notes with a light chuckle.

"No weapon has really spoken to me yet though.", they hear Phi say from out of nowhere. They both turn to see Phi walking toward them. She walks up to Minazuki and throws a quick left hook at him, trying to catch him off guard. He manages to dodge the attack and goes to counter attack with a knee to her gut, but she also manages to dodge as well. She goes for a knock out with a strong right hook, but he sees the attack coming and attacks her attack head on with his own right hook. When their fists meet, there's a shockwave that goes through the air. She's sent skidding back a few feet, but still standing as he just stands there with his fist out and a grin on his face.

"That was pretty good. You weren't kidding, Izunaga.", Minazuki says with an impressed expression on his face.

"You're not too bad yourself, Minazuki. It's impossible to ever catch you off guard anymore.", Phi says as she fixes an out of place hair between her eyes.

He wipes the sweat from his forehead while saying, "You almost caught me off guard, but Quake's sixth sense kind of gave the attack away. Did you come over here to train or was there something else?"

She gets a shocked look on her face before saying, "Oh, I almost forgot, the Village Elder said he'd like to speak with you. He said he wanted to speak with you right away, so I guess it's urgent."

"Really? I'll go up now. See ya later.", Minazuki says before heading off.

* * *

When he gets up there, he sees Yata standing in front of a statue of the spirit of the shrine, an Ancient Earth Dragon. "You came, good. I need to tell you somethings.", Yata says as he looks up at the statue's giant wings.

"I'm listening.", Minazuki replies as he walks over to Yata's side.

"You remember the tale of Shoryu?", Yata asks as he glances over his shoulder at the boy, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, he was the guy who used these gauntlets before me and stole from the rich to give to the poor, right?", Minazuki asks as he looks up at the dragon statue too.

"Yes, but there's more to the story than that.", Yata explains as he turns his attention back to the statue. "One night, Shoryu's team of bandits was ambushed and in order to buy enough time to let his allies get away, he tore a hole into the earth that eventually grew into the size of a great city in the matter of minutes. It was rumored that he died in this battle, a hero who gave his life for his people. But the truth is, he lived through that fateful battle and established this very village we live in today.", Yata explains with a smile on his face as he turns back to the boy and starts walking towards him. As he stands in front of Minazuki, he reaches into his robes and pulls out a mask. The mask is black with a brown with only one eye hole on its right side and dragon design across that eye hole. "This was the mask he wore when he robbed the rich. And from this day forward, it will be your mask.", Yata says as he hands Minazuki the mask.

Minazuki looks at the mask he was just handed and asks, "Why would I need this? I'm not planning on becoming a bandit or anything."

He turns to see a sad look on Yata's face before he says, "That's where the other thing I wanted to talk to you about comes in. I believe tonight is the night that I saw in my vision one month ago."

"Tonight!? Are you sure!?", Minazuki asks, slightly panicked by the idea.

Yata nods his head and says, "I'm afraid I had another vision as well. I saw a powerful general slowly slaughtering our people without any remorse or hesitation. Their soldiers ravaged the village in many ways before burning the remains, leaving everyone there to die in the fire."

Minazuki is left shocked by what he's hearing before saying, "Can't we do something? We've held our ground for so long now. And I've gotten much stronger! We can stand and fight them!"

They suddenly hear Izunaga come in as he says, "That's a futile plan and you know it."

Minazuki turns to see that Izunaga has a stern and cold look on his face and asks, "But, can't we do something? Anything?"

Izunaga sighs and says, "Retreating isn't an option at this point. This general, whoever they may be, would easily be able to just track us down and kill us. Standing our ground would be useless considering our actual manpower is roughly five people and they have an entire army of trained soldiers. And doing nothing would just get us all killed."

"So you agree, we have to at least try to do something, right!?", Minazuki shouts in frustration.

Izunaga nods and Yata says, "That's why we've been talking about a last resort strategy."

"Last resort strategy? What are you-", Minazuki begins to ask before Izunaga says, "It's a plan to prevent all the people of Tapu Village from having to suffer through any of the backlash of the other plans I mentioned. It's the only way."

"The only way? You're sounding like a lunatic Izunaga! What are you-", Minazuki begins to shout before Yata places his hand on the boy's shoulder and says, "It's all for the best. Have mercy on this poor village, Minazuki." Minazuki looks back to Yata to see that there's a genuine smile on the old man's face as he says, "It's better to die a peaceful death than to die a slow and painful one, is it not. We must spare our people of this terrible fate."

"You're talking about killing everyone in the village! Are you two crazy!?", Minazuki shouts, trying desperately to help them see how insane they're sounding.

"It can't be helped! Would you rather watch them be ravaged and butchered by the enemy soldiers!? Would you rather watch everyone and everything burn as they walk away!? You need to stop thinking about the morals and think more about the bigger picture, Minazuki!", Izunaga shouts back, causing the boy to grit his teeth in frustration.

Minazuki drops to his knees and shouts, "But we have to have some other options, right!? It can't just end like this! I have to fight, I have to!"

Izunaga kneels down to him before slapping him across the face and saying, "Regain your composure! If you let your emotions take control, you'll die and this'll all be for nothing!" Izunaga then takes the mask out of Minazuki's hand and helps him put it on. "This mask is your new face. Your past life here at Tapu Village will be erased along with every connection you have here. You will be like a shadow in the night, unknown and untraceable. This is your life now, accept it or die, that's your choice. Just know, if you choose death, you'll be letting down a lot of people.", Izunaga says as he gets back to his feet and looks down at Minazuki.

Minazuki just looks down at the floor before saying, "I guess... it can't be helped then..."

Izunaga and Yata look at each other for a moment and Yata nods to him before saying, "Go ahead and explain the plan, Izunaga." Izunaga nods and says, "The plan is simple. We've setup a banquet in your honor. Think of it like, a going away party. After enjoying themselves, all the other villagers will be lethargic and tired. They'll all go home and want to go straight to sleep. That's when you'll use Quake to bring down the nearby mountain sides and bury the village in landslides, destroying the shrine in the process."

"Bury them all alive?", Minazuki asks coldly, already knowing the answer deep down in his heart.

"Yes, I know it sounds dark, but with the weight of the rocks that you'll be dropping, everyone will likely die before they realize what's happening. They'll die peaceful deaths.", Yata says with a frown on his face.

"After that, you'll search for survivors. Anyone who survived will need to be quickly dealt with, as to prevent anyone from tracking your movements. Everyone need to disappear, including the two of us.", Izunaga says as he moves to Yata's side and places his hand on the old man's shoulder.

"So, you want me to kill everyone in the village with a massive landslide then execute anyone who's lucky enough to escape with their life?", Minazuki asks as he looks to them with a disheartened look in his eye. Yata and Izunaga nod their heads yes and Minazuki just sits on the floor and thinks about what he's being asked to do. "Even if I go along with this, what do I do after that then, huh? I wander around until I'm eventually killed?", Minazuki asks as he looks up at the ceiling for answers.

"You avenge us. Topple the damn Empire and dethrone the Emperor. Bring this corrupt world back to the light, so nobody has to live the way we have these past few years. That's what you do.", Izunaga explains, enraged by his stubborn behavior.

Minazuki chuckles to himself before saying, "You think I can just be some sort of story book hero? That's ridiculous."

"That's our only option, boy.", Yata bluntly replies as he looks down at the boy.

Izunaga walks up to Minazuki and says, "There's a reason I taught you to lie so well. It was for a situation like this where you'd have to make a new identity for yourself and leave this place behind. If anyone asks, you're a monk from the temples to the north eastern temples, like I once was. They have a tradition where you must never remove your mask while outside the temple, so that should let you keep your disguise. I advise you avoid the Capital as much as possible. It's no secret that that city is full of evil and corruption. Once you have trained enough to single handedly fight the entire Imperial Army, you will find your way into the castle and eliminate the Emperor and all his associates, especially the Prime Minister. That man is the true root of all our problems, and everyone else's."

Minazuki chuckles to himself and asks, "A monk, really? Don't you think I'm a bit young to be a monk?"

Izunaga looks at him with a confused look before asking, "Whatever do you mean? Your father was the Headmaster of the temple, wasn't he? Why wouldn't you aim to follow in his footsteps?"

"And how exactly are you planning on explaining my fighting style?", Minazuki asks sarcastically, a slight smile coming across his face beneath the mask.

"You left the temple in search of inner peace. And it just so happens that your inner peace comes from a good brawl. You use a mix of speed and strength in your fighting. I suggest you try to hide your Imperial Arm as much as possible, but very few know of Quake and fewer know that it still exists.", Izunaga smugly explains with a grin on his face.

"You've thought this all out, haven't you?", Minazuki asks with a slight chuckle.

"I have, I even stashed an out of town kit here at the shrine for you.", Izunaga says as he heads behind the shrine.

"A kit?", Minazuki asks with a confused look.

"It's just a duffel bag with some supplies and medicines inside, but it's better than going out with nothing. This bag is the same one I used when I left the temple, so it'll pass for a monk's bag.", Izunaga explains as he tosses the bag to Minazuki.

Minazuki opens the bag and sees the supplies before saying, "I guess everything's set, all that's left is this party, then it all comes toppling down." Yata walks to Minazuki's side and says,

"We'll set up the party for tonight. It'll go into the late hours, so you should rest so you can make your escape after tonight's main event." Minazuki nods to him and Yata shows him a bed for him to sleep in while he and Izunaga get the party setup.

"We'll come back for you when the party's about to start, but you'll have to act like you're surprised when you get to the party. You're not supposed to know about it even a little bit.", Izunaga says to him as he leaves with Yata. Minazuki sits down in the bed and places the bag next to it. He takes off his mask and sets it inside the bag before closing it and laying down to rest.

* * *

Minazuki is woken up by the sound of the shrine door creaking open. He opens his eyes slightly to see Izunaga walking into the room. "I know you're up. It's time for the party.", Izunaga says as he leans against the door frame.

Minazuki chuckles and asks, "What gave me away?"

"You did just now.", Izunaga replies with a slight smile.

Minazuki lets out a defeated sigh and says, "I knew I should've called you on that bluff. Guess that's what I get, huh?"

"We have no time to lose. This will be the last time you see any of your friends from this village, so make it a good one.", Izunaga explains before leaving the room and heading outside.

Minazuki gets up out of bed and fixes his messed up hair before heading outside to see the village covered in torches and decorated for a great party for the like he's never seen before. Phi quickly runs up to him and says, "Surprise! We threw you a surprise party for your graduation from Izunaga's training program. But, I bet you saw this all coming from a mile away, didn't you Minazuki?"

He shakes his head no and replies with, "I didn't even know that I was graduating from anything. This is all for me?" He looks around to see everyone's enjoying themselves; Ikashi and Toda are drinking ale together, Yata is performing magic tricks, Izunaga is handing out meat kebabs and Minazuki's father and some other villagers are running other food stands.

"Yep, Yata and Izunaga said you've been working really hard and since you were at the end of your training, you should be rewarded.", Phi explains with a smile as she looks out at the other villagers enjoying themselves. Phi blushes a little before saying, "Minazuki, I want to tell you something. I've been wanting to tell you for so long, but I couldn't ever find the time to tell you this."

Minazuki is confused by the sudden change in her. She's gone from her normal positive and outgoing self, to a shy and sheepish girl. "What is it? Did you want to spar for real this time or something?", Minazuki asks trying to get the boring stuff out of the way first.

"No, that's not it at all! I wanted to tell you how I-", she begins to say before she's interrupted by Ikashi and Toda coming over to Minazuki and rubbing his head like he's a child.

"Look at ya kid! You're all grown up now! Now you can start takin' on all these soldiers while we old geezers get to finally retire!", Toda says through his drunken stooper.

"Hey! Who're you calling old!?", Ikashi shouts furiously.

"Us you damn drunk!", Toda shouts back, shaking his half full bottle of ale at his friend.

"Oh yeah, I guess we are pretty old, but if we're old, then Old Man Yata and Izunaga are prehistoric!", Ikashi says before busting out in a drunken laugh. Toda just starts laughing with him before they both end up tripping over their own feet and landing on their faces.

"You damn drunks, you don't even know what you're talking about, do you?", Minazuki says smugly as he looks down at the drunks.

"Hey, watch your yap! Treat your elders with tha respec they dizev.", Toda slurs as he waves his bottle of ale around hysterically.

"You know, I came so close to putting your ass in jail so many times when you were a boy, Minazuki. But I didn't, because I felt like there was something in you, like you were going to do something so great, I couldn't just leave you in a cell to rot, you know?", Ikashi says, getting overly emotional at the end.

"Yep, they're both drunk. How many drinks did you two have?", Minazuki says before looking over to see a table buried in empty ale bottles.

"You can never trust these two to drink responsibly when they're together, huh Minazuki?", Phi notes with a slight smile as she looks over to him.

Minazuki chuckles to himself before saying, "These two are completely hopeless. We better pick them up before someone ends up tripping over them." He picks up Toda as she picks up Ikashi and they take them over to the bar, where they sit them down in stools.

"You two kids are so nice~ *hiccup* I wish my kids were as nice as you guys~", Ikashi slurs.

"Yeah, my daughter just makes fun of my weight and calls me a dumb blacksmith. Why can't she be more like you two?", Toda says as he tries to drink from his bottle, but finds that it's empty, having spilled the last of it when he fell on the ground earlier.

"Maybe you two should take it easy on the booze, huh? Let's go have some fun, Minazuki.", Phi suggests as she takes him by the arm and leads him around the village. She leads him over to Izunaga's little roasting station and says, "Let's get something to eat. Two kebabs, please Teacher."

Izunaga grabs a couple of kebabs for them and says, "Here you go. Enjoying the party so far kids? We worked pretty hard to plan this all out, we're even going to have fireworks at the end."

"It's pretty nice Izunaga. You planned this all for my graduation from your training?", Minazuki asks, trying to keep up the facade in front of Phi. Izunaga nods and says, "You're probably the strongest student I've had the pleasure of training. Now, if only Phi would get up to half your level. Then we'd probably be able to start a small militia. That'd get the Emperor's attention."

"I don't think I'd make a good soldier...", Phi replies nervously, but Izunaga shakes his head no and says, "You have the potential, but you lack the proper training. I guess it'll take a few months for you to reach Minazuki's current level, but you can certainly do it."

"Anybody can be a soldier if they try hard enough. All you really have to do is be good in a fight and know how to adapt to your opponent. A good weapon helps too, but knowing it is much more helpful. Once you've figured your weapon out, I'm certain you'll easily rise to my level. Hell, you might even get better than me.", Minazuki adds as he gives her a toothy smile and rubs the back of his neck.

Phi's face suddenly turns red before she shoves Minazuki's kebab in his mouth and says, "You should try some of this, I heard it's really good!" He starts eating his kebab, trying not to suffocate on it while she turns away from him and starts eating her own in small bites. " _He's supposed to be my rival, but I can't even look at him when he complements me like that! I feel like a school girl, this is terrible!_ ", she thinks as she drags him across the village. "You know, you really haven't changed a bit since we were little, Minazuki.", Phi notes as they walk together.

"Really? I thought I at least got a little taller.", Minazuki replies sarcastically, causing the girl to let out a giggle.

"You see? That's what I'm talking about. You're the same sarcastic, battle hungry boy from our childhood.", she replies with a nervous smile.

"I like to think that I've grown a lot since then. I don't just fight for the fight anymore. I have a purpose, and I like it.", Minazuki says as his fighting spirit starts to envelope him like an orange aura.

As she sees his eyes fill up with motivation and burning passion, she starts to feel a warm, uneasy feeling in her gut. "M-Minazuki...I want to tell you something later... Will you listen?", Phi asks sheepishly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?", Minazuki asks as he continues to eat the last of his kebab.

Phi lets out a sigh of relief when she hears this and as she does so, she notices Minazuki's family at their station a few feet away and says, "Let's go talk to your dad! I bet he'd like to talk to you after hearing about your graduation!" She pulls him over to their station and says, "Hey, you two enjoying the party so far? What are you guys making?"

"Big brother! We're making your favorite dish, that smelly fin stuff you always make! See? See?", the little brother says happily as he runs up to Minazuki and grabs a hold of his pant leg.

"Really? Can I get a bowl then?", Minazuki asks as he starts to drool a little.

"Sure thing, comin' right up.", his father says as he fills a bowl up with the soup like dish. "I still don't understand why you like this stuff. It's like a cocktail of aquatic Danger Beast meat, noodles, chicken broth and spices. I guess it's the food of a real warrior, huh?", his father says as he hands Minazuki the big bowl of food with a pair of chopsticks.

Minazuki starts to almost inhale the food straight out of the bowl, as if it's the best thing he's ever had, before Phi says, "That looks like poison! How can you eat that stuff?"

Minazuki stops for a minute to take a breath before replying with, "It tastes great once you get used to the tangy after taste. You want some?" He tries to hand her his bowl, but she politely pushes the bowl away before saying, "No, it's fine. I'll just have a bowl of ramen."

"Alright, finally a simple order for the night.", Minazuki's father replies with a smile before he fixes her a bowl of fresh ramen half a boiled egg and a piece of steak off to the side.

"Now this is a real meal~ Thank you very much Sir!", Phi says as he hands her the bowl with her chopsticks. She starts eating her meal as Minazuki continues to eat his, both of them loudly slurping down their noodles.

"You and big brother both eat a lot. I don't understand where you put it all.", Minazuki's brother says innocently.

"Yeah, they're quite alike, don't you think?", Minazuki's father says with a slight grin on his face. They both stop in the middle of slurping down noodles and look to each other and see that they're both doing the exact same thing. Phi stops and blushes while Minazuki continues eating his food.

"Well, I guess since we grew up together, I kind of adopted his eating habits.", Phi nervously replies, trying to brush it off as nothing more.

Before she can continue to defend herself, they all hear a bell ringing near the center of the village and turn to see it was Yata ringing his cow bell. After getting everyone's attention, he says, "Attention, attention everyone! The fireworks are going to begin here soon! Izunaga, please come help me prepare them while everyone gets to their places."

"Fireworks! Daddy, there's gonna be fireworks!", Minazuki's little brother says enthusiastically.

"I guess this is the finale for the party. It's been pretty nice, but I need to get some rest. I have to go hunting tomorrow.", Minazuki's father says with a sigh.

Phi quickly puts down her bowl then snags Minazuki's now empty bowl off him and places it on top of hers before saying, "Come on, I have the perfect spot for us to watch the fireworks from." She snags his hand and rushes him up to the shrine. "We need to get on top of the shrine! It'll be the best place to see them from!", Phi says before leaping up to the shed's roof and from there to the shrine's roof. Minazuki quickly follows after her by using his Imperial Arm to make the journey in a single jump. When he gets up there, he sees she standing there, looking up to the star lit sky. "Isn't it a beautiful night? It's just perfect for a party like this.", Phi says with a slight smile on her face.

He smiles as he looks up at the sky too and says, "Yeah, it's a pretty nice view. Not a cloud in the sky. They really did choose the perfect day to set off fireworks, huh?" He turns to see she's seems to be staring right at him with a weird look he hasn't seen from her before.

" _I have to tell him. I can't hide it anymore._ ", she thinks as she sees the moonlight striking him at just the right angle. "Hey, Minazuki...", she says, blushing slightly.

"Yeah?", he asks with a slightly confused look on his face as she gets closer.

She looks up to him with loving eyes before saying, "I think I love you." She quickly grabs him by his head and pulling him in for a kiss on the lips. As they kiss, the fireworks start going off in the sky, lighting up the night with beautiful shades of red, green, blue, and purple. As they stop kissing, they look at each other nervously and she says, "I'm sorry, I just... I just couldn't keep that in anymore. I'm sorry."

"It's alright.", he replies nervously as he rubs the back of his neck. "I... kind of like you too.", he says as his face turns slightly red.

"You do!? Like, you 'like like' me!?", she asks frantically, completely caught off guard by this outcome.

He nods and says, "Yeah, for the past two years I've been trying to figure out a way to get it out there, but I couldn't ever find the right time to say it."

She gives him a tight hug around the waist as she lays her head against his chest and says, "You don't know what that means to me to hear you say that!"

He places his hand on her head while wrapping his other arm around her, holding her close. " _I might not be able to really give her the love she deserves, but for tonight, I'll try my best to give it all I have. It's the least I can do, for her._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he feels the warmth from her face going through his shirt. He looks down to the village to see that everyone's packing up their things and going back to their houses.

"It's over, isn't it?", Phi says, slightly saddened by the party's end.

"Yeah, you should probably head home. Your dad will kill you if you're home even a minute late.", Minazuki says before kissing her on the forehead. She kisses him on the cheek before jumping down off the roof and heading home. When she's finally out of sight, he lets out a sigh of relief and thinks, "Good grief. I'm handed the girl of my dreams on a silver platter and I have to bury her and everyone I've ever known. Life's a bitch."

He suddenly hears Izunaga ask, "Are you ready?", before turning to see he's watching him from the shed's rooftop.

"I think so. I just need to get the bag and mask, then I'll be ready to execute the final steps of the plan.", Minazuki says as he looks up at the full moon.

"We'll be inside when you're ready.", Izunaga says before heading into the shrine with Yata.

* * *

After a moment to himself, Minazuki heads inside the shrine to see Yata and Izunaga waiting for him in front of the statue of the Ancient Earth Dragon. "So, you've cleared your mind of this place then?", Yata asks, his gaze focused on the dragon's statue.

"I think so, what now?", Minazuki replies as he walks over to the statue.

"Now, you head out to the farthest edge of the village and you first bring down this shrine on top of the nearby buildings then you quickly drop the mountain side on top of everything. That should be enough. After that, I suggest you head to the north east. There are strong Danger Beasts there that will help you advance your skills. Once you're ready, you'll head to the Capital and topple the whole castle, with everyone inside. And then, once everything is said and done, you will have finally avenged us.", Izunaga explains, glancing up at the statue with a slightly curious look.

Minazuki sees his bag is sitting next to the statue and pulls out his mask. As he puts the mask on, he says, "I think I'm ready to do it. Once it's done, I'll find a way to make the Imperial Army pay for all this."

Izunaga nods and says, "Good, now, I called in a few favors and found out what exactly could be the danger that Yata was sensing. Apparently, the strongest General in the Imperial Army is on their way to take out our little village on their way back from conquering a rebel northern tribe. We'd all die in an instant against that person."

As Minazuki adjusts his mask to properly fit on his face, he says, "Well then, once all this is done, I'll be sure they also get what's coming to them."

"Just make sure you live through tonight to see tomorrow first. You won't be avenging anybody if you die.", Yata coldly replies as he starts heading to his bedroom. Yata suddenly stops before saying, "Oh, I almost forgot!" He pats himself down before pulling a small book from his robes. The book seems to be a somewhat thin book with a leather cover that fits perfectly in a person's hands. Yata tosses it over his shoulders to Minazuki, who catches it as Yata says, "While I was looking through the hidden area where Quake was stored, I found that book. I can't seem to read it, but it seems to be important." Minazuki looks down at it and simply shoves it into his bag with his other equipment. Yata looks back at them with a smile and says, "I'm going to bed. Have a great life, Minazuki."

"Good night, Old Man.", Minazuki replies as he turns to Yata.

As Yata heads into his room and closes the door, Izunaga picks up Minazuki's bag and hands it to him before saying, "There's a cloak inside, you should use it. It has a hood that can further hide your identity and its sleeves are long enough to hide your Imperial Arm from sight. Now, I'm going to stay here and meditate until the end. Farewell, Minazuki." Minazuki just nods to him before leaving and heading to the edge of the village.

Once he reaches the end of the road that leads out of the village, he turns back to look back at his village one last time. He reaches into his bag and pulls out the cloak before putting it on. "It can't be help...", he says before raising his fist into the air and with one strong punch to the ground, shatters the earth, causing the shrine to come toppling down on top of the village. The shrine is quickly followed by half the mountain coming toppling down on top, crushing the entire village in mere seconds. He stands there for what feels like hours to him, but in reality was just mere minutes, just looking at what he just did with an emotionless glance. "Goodbye, old life. May you rest in eternal peace.", Minazuki mutters to himself as he throws the hood over his head and turns his back on his former home.


	3. Kill the Bandits

In the pale moon light, Minazuki looks at the disaster he just caused. His entire village is now buried under the remains of the Ancient Earth Dragon Shrine and part of the mountain side. He turns away from the disaster, leaving behind his old life in the rubble of Tapu Village, before heading down the road to the north east.

As he's heading down the road however, he encounters what seem to be Imperial soldiers riding on horseback. They block his path before moving to make a path for someone to get through. Then he sees what he guesses is their General, based on her special looking hat and not generic look. She has long blue hair and some sort of tattoo on her upper chest and wears a white general uniform with matching thigh high boots and a silver rapier on her belt.

"Stop right there! We're looking for Tapu Village! I've been given orders to obtain overdue taxes that they have refused to pay. Is this the right path?", the General asks.

He looks up to her and replies, "This is the path to Tapu Village, but it seems like they had some sort of landslide. The village seemed to be completely buried under rocks and dirt. I believe that there was an Earth Dragon attack that left zero survivors."

She gives him a cold glare and asks, "Who are you?"

"I am but a simple monk. What seems to be the problem?", he answers convincingly, giving the woman a bow as he says so.

"A monk huh? I haven't seen many of your kind before.", she notes as she looks at him with a confused look.

"I'm terribly busy. I need to head into the forest and meditate. You all stay safe now.", he says before trying to get around the soldiers blocking his path. Most of her soldiers are plain and boring looking, wearing the usual soldier uniform with their matching helmets and chosen weapons. Three of her soldiers stand out, they seem stronger than the rest and have unique looking weapons with them, but don't seem too interested in Minazuki.

One of the average soldiers, however, gets down from his horse while shouting, "You can leave when General Esdeath allows it! Now don't you dare move any further!"

"That's some way to treat a monk.", Minazuki replies as he takes a step back from the aggressive soldier, acting offended by his aggression.

The soldier draws his sword and swings down at Minazuki, but Minazuki dodges past his attack and knees him in the gut for it. The soldier drops to his knees gasping for air and Minazuki says, "You should treat monks with respect. You never know what skills they might be hiding."

The other soldiers go to draw their swords and the three unique soldiers glance over to Esdeath for orders, but Esdeath lifts her hands, ordering them to hold their actions. "I never gave any order to attack this monk! Leave him be!", Esdeath orders in an aggravated tone, causing all the average soldiers to let up on their weapons. "To take out a trained Imperial Soldier in just a few seconds without any weapon whatsoever? I'm impressed, Monk.", Esdeath says as she looks down at the gasping soldier.

"Now, I'll be taking my leave, unless someone else wants to try to fight an unarmed monk.", Minazuki replies as he walks around the other soldiers.

They don't attempt to block his way and Esdeath says, "If any of you disobey me like that again, I'll personally eliminate you." As she warns her men, an ice spike forms out of the ground and pierces the gasping soldier's skull, killing him instantly.

Minazuki senses her blood lust and murderous intent as she does this and a slight chill goes up his spine. He says nothing and simply walks by them, trying to avoid a fight. " _So that was General Esdeath? She's definitely strong. I'll need to make sure I get a better grip on Quake's abilities before I can hope to stand a chance against her._ ", he thinks to himself as he continues to walk down the path. He suddenly hears the sound of a horse coming back for him and uses Quake's sixth sense to see that it's actually Esdeath.

"Monk! A word!", Esdeath shouts as she rides her horse to him.

He looks over his shoulder and asks, "Yes, General?"

"You skillfully disarmed and dominated that soldier without any effort, but I sense something...more in you. I could use someone of your strength on my team. I seem to have an opening for one more, if you're interested.", she offers with a cold smile.

"It was simply self defense. I didn't enjoy fighting that man and I'd prefer to stay out of fights.", he replies so convincingly that even Esdeath believes it.

"How unfortunate. Well, if you change your mind, I should be returning to the Capital soon. I'll be sure to inform the guard that a monk might want to see me about a job.", she says as she turns back and starts heading back to her men. "Maybe we'll see each other again, Monk.", she adds before riding off.

" _That was close. Now, let's disappear._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he continues down the road.

* * *

Later, that same night, he stumbles across a destroyed wagon with two dead horses. "What the hell happened here?", he asks himself as he walks over to investigate. He sees dead bodies of a few men without any visible wounds of any kind.

As he's investigating the wreckage, he hears a faint voice muttering, "H...help...me..." Minazuki rushes around the wagon to see a man with a mask over his face and bloody rags covering his wounds. Next to him are bloodied arrows, some broken and some whole. "Help...Bandits...took..her...Please, help me.", the man begs as he reaches out to Minazuki.

"Bandits? The others don't seem to have taken any hits like you have.", Minazuki says in a calm tone as he analyzes the man's wounds.

"Their boss...poison gas...don't...breath it...", the man mutters through his weakened voice as he takes deep breaths and holds his bleeding wounds. The man grabs Minazuki's cloak and begs, "Please, save her... Take her to Father...In...Capital...city..." The man suddenly dies from his injuries as he lets go of Minazuki's cloak, leaving a bloody hand print behind.

"God damn it. Do I really have to do this?", Minazuki curses as he considers just walking away. He looks through the rubble and sees a bloody teddy bear with a tiny bloody hand print on it. As he picks it up, he sees a heart with a name on it sewn to the bear's chest. The name is Anna and after looking at it for a moment, he felt like he couldn't just walk away from this. He shoves the bear in his bag before looking around for clues to where the bandits might have ran off to.

He finds about ten sets of tracks that lead off into the forest, all heading in the same direction, so he chooses to follow them. As he's following them, he senses someone watching him from the trees. He hears the string of a bow being pulled back and looks up to see a bandit in a tree trying to shoot him with a bow and arrow.

As the arrow flies at Minazuki, he catches it with his left hand before it can hit him. The bandit quickly lets ten more arrows fly, but Minazuki deflects them all with his wrists, sending them into trees and the ground. "You stumbled into the wrong part of the woods pal! This is Stalker territory!", the bandit shouts as he jumps from branch to branch, firing arrows down at Minazuki.

Minazuki quickly makes himself some cover by making a wall in front of himself. "You can't hide from me! I'll get you one way or another!", the bandit shouts as he leaps over the wall and starts raining arrows down on Minazuki again. Minazuki blocks the arrows with more stone and manages to knock the bandit out of the sky by making a wall to keep them from getting to the next branch.

Minazuki takes the bow when the bandit hits the ground and says, "Now, you're going to tell me where you took the girl."

The bandit pulls a dagger out of his boot and shouts, "I'm not goin down that easy!", before turning around to stab Minazuki.

Minazuki grabs the blade of the dagger and snaps it off before saying, "Where. Is. She."

"The boss, he took her to our base! He sent me back out to double check for valuables! I didn't wanna take the girl, honest! He just wanted her for his own stuff, he's a freak! I had nothin to do with that!", the bandit swears as Minazuki grabs him by his shirt and lifts him in the air.

"Now where exactly is this base?", Minazuki growls as he burns through the bandit with a raging glare.

"To the north east of here! It's a cave hidden behind some trees and bushes! Now please, let me go! I didn't do nothin to those guys!", the bandit begs.

"Good, I'll be paying your bandit 'pals' a visit. And as for you, you'll have to face what you did.", Minazuki says as the ground in front of him rips apart, forming a large hole.

"W-what are ya gonna do with that?", the bandit nervously asks as he looks down into the deep hole.

"I'm going to send you to your death.", Minazuki answers as he throws the bandit in the twenty feet deep hole.

"You can't just leave me down here!", the bandit shouts before the hole is covered and the walls start to close in on him.

"Now that that's settled, I should probably find this bandit cave.", Minazuki says to himself as the bandit continues to beg for his life.

As the bandit is slowly crushed, his bones shattering and his screams being muffled by the dirt filling his lungs. Minazuki just ignores these noises and starts heading north east to find their base.

* * *

Minazuki eventually picks up movement with Quake's sixth sense and finds the entrance to the cave, but it's guarded by three bandits. He hides in the woods, masking his presence while he waits for an opening. He looks up to see clouds coming that are going to cast a perfect shadow to let him kill those guys without having to use his Imperial Arm, leaving no trace.

As soon as the clouds block the moonlight, Minazuki rushes in at an amazing speed and punches all three of the bandits, crushing the first one's windpipe, then crushing the other two's skulls against each other. He throws the bodies into a nearby bush before checking for other bandits in the area.

" _No other bandits on the outside. I guess everyone's inside sleeping or something._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he peeks inside the cave. He knocks against the ground one time and senses the entire layout of the cave. " _The bandits seem to have hollowed out most of this cave and built a small fort inside. This is gonna be a real pain in the ass._ ", Minazuki thinks as he starts walking inside. He senses a bandit walking his way and ducks behind a barrel to wait and see what they might do.

The bandit walks right by him without even noticing, drinking a bottle of ale as he goes outside. Minazuki sneaks up behind him and quickly snaps his neck before throwing his body into the empty barrel he was hiding behind.

" _That's five so far. There can't be too many more left now, right?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself before continuing through the cave, searching for the missing girl. He stops and closes his eyes to try to sense any heartbeats or footsteps in the cave. He senses six heartbeats through the cave, most of them in the same room while two of them are off in another part of the cave.

He sneaks over to the door to the room with most of the heartbeats in it and peeks through the keyhole to see that three guys are sleeping while one of them is sitting in a chair reading a book, or at least trying to read. " _So they're all in one place. That'll make killing them easier. Then the noise should lure out their boss then I can just kill him and get the girl out of here._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he moves away from the door and starts to plot the bandits' deaths.

He quickly strikes the wall with a strong right hook and the ceiling for the room where all the remaining bandits were in collapses in on itself, killing them all instantly. The falling rocks send echoes through the entire cave, and Minazuki knows that their boss had to hear it.

"What the hell was that!? A cave in!?", a strong male voice shouts from deeper in the cave.

Minazuki quietly walks into the next room and hides behind a bar counter when he senses the last guy coming his way. "Hey! Where the hell is everybody!? HELLO!? I swear to God if you all are dead, I'm gonna be PISSED!", the boss shouts as he walks into the room Minazuki's hiding in. M

inazuki peeks around the corner and sees that the bandit seems to be wearing a gas mask with some sort of gun like weapon. " _That guy did say that the boss used some sort of poison. Maybe it's a poison based Imperial Arm? I better not give him the chance to use it._ ", Minazuki thinks as the boss walks into the hall and tries to open the door into the caved in room.

"Damn it! It won't budge! Are any of you idiots alive in there!? Anybody!? ANYBODY!?", the bandit shouts as he slams his shoulder against the door, trying to break it down.

Minazuki sneaks into the hallway and behind him before punching him full force in his spine. All of bones in the bandit's chest shatter, his ribs, his spine, his collar bone, every single one. He tries to scream out in pain, but just starts coughing up large amounts of blood as he drops to his knees.

He turns back to see Minazuki standing there with a menacing glare. "W-who the hell are you!? Get back!", the bandit shouts as he goes to point his Imperial Arm at him. Minazuki stomps on the bandit's hand with the Imperial Arm in it, crushing his bones without hesitation.

"Where's the girl?", Minazuki asks coldly through the bandit's screaming.

"That little tease!? What the hell do you want with her!? If that's what you want, she's chained up in my room! Take her, take her! And leave me alone!", the bandit shouts.

Minazuki takes the Imperial Arm out of the bandit's crushed hand and asks, "So, this is an Imperial Arm, right? A poison type one if I had to take a guess, right?"

"Y-yeah, I got it when we raided a caravan weeks ago. It's called Ferima, but you can have it now! That's totally cool! No problem at all there!", the bandit replies nervously.

Minazuki puts it in his bag before saying, "Okay, now you die.", and throwing him into another room and dropping the ceiling on him like he did to the others.

As he walks through the main hall, he looks around at the empty chairs and benches as he says to himself, "Man, these bandits were way too easy. I guess normal people against Imperial Arms users is just kind of a one sided battle."

* * *

He finally makes his way into the bandit chief's room to find a young purple haired girl half naked and chained to the foot of the bed like a dog.

"P-please...don't hit me again...", the girl begs as she starts to cry.

"I'm not here to hurt you.", Minazuki gently replies as he walks into the room.

The girl turns her head to see Minazuki and screams out in terror before shouting, "A monster! Someone help me!"

"A monster? I'm not a-", he begins to say before thinking back to what he did to his own village. He looks down at his gauntlets and thinks, " _Am I a monster? I guess after what I did, I'm not really the greatest guy, but still..._ "

He's brought back to reality by the girl screaming out while pulling relentlessly at her chain. He quickly rummages through his bag until he finds the little bear he found earlier. "Anna?", he says as he pulls out the bear.

She turns to him with a confused look and asks, "How do you know my name, Mister Monster?"

He shows her the bear and says, "This probably belongs to you."

"Bearie! I thought I lost you! Please, give him here! He needs me!", she begs as she reaches out for the toy.

He walks over to her and hands her the bear before shattering the chain with a single punch, freeing her from the bed.

The girl holds her bear tight while saying, "Thank you, Mister Monster! I missed my Bearie so much! How could I ever repay you?"

"Well, we're not done yet now, are we? I was told that you were supposed to go to the Capital and meet your father.", Minazuki replies before throwing his bag back over his shoulder.

"Wait, I think I know how I can repay you!", the girl shouts as a light seems to go off in her little head. Minazuki looks over to her and she points to a nearby mirror and says, "That bad man hid all his things in a hole in the wall behind his mirror. He has a chest that has a lot of stuff in it. You might find some stuff you want in there if it helps."

Minazuki looks behind the mirror like the girl suggested and sure enough there's a chest there along with some outfits around Anna's size. When he opens it, he finds it's full of expensive rags, gems and gold! He finds a few bags and quickly fills them up with as much of the loot as possible then throws them into his bag before snagging a few of the rags to use later as towels.

He grabs a purple dress from the hiding spot and throws it to Anna while saying, "Here, you'll need some new clothes. Try these on."

She quickly throws the outfit on and it's a perfect fit. "Now we have some money and extra equipment. We should start heading for the Capital. It isn't too far, so we should make it there in a few hours.", Minazuki notes as he throws his bag over his shoulder oncemore and starts heading to the door.

"W-why are you helping me, Mister Monster?", Anna asks with a childish smile.

"Your bear, he asked me to help you guys out and get you to your father safe and sound. Now, we better get moving.", Minazuki replies with a smile hidden under his mask.

"Okay! Let's get going then, Mister Monster.", Anna says with a nod as she walks over to his side.


	4. Kill the Plan

It's close to midnight when they exit the cave, Anna still holding her bear close to her chest with one arm while giving the other arm to Minazuki, so she won't get lost. As they go through the forest, they head south west to where Minazuki believes the Capital should be. As they're walking though, they hear the sound of howling wolves, and they sound pretty close by.

"What was that?", Anna nervously asks as she looks around in fear.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine.", Minazuki reassures her in a calm and collected tone.

She just nods and Minazuki tries to pinpoint where exactly the wolves are if they're even that close by. He eventually finds them and sees that they're pretty close and forming a perimeter around them, trying to find the perfect time to strike. He stomps his foot and spikes jut out of the ground, piercing the wolves throughout their bodies, instantly killing them. Anna heard the sound of the spikes stabbing through the wolves' flesh and asked, "W-what was that noise? Are they getting closer!?"

"We'll be fine, trust me. The Capital should be this way.", Minazuki replies as he continues to lead the way.

They continue on their way to the Capital in silence before Minazuki asks, "So, do you know your father's name or what he does?"

"Oh yeah, our village elder told me that his full name was Ken Shinu and that he's a blacksmith on the east part of the Capital.", she happily replies as she smiles up at the masked boy.

"Well that saves me a lot of trouble, thanks, Anna.", Minazuki warmly replies as he glances back at the girl. " _At least I don't have to track this guy down. That'll save me a whole lot of time. I'll just drop this girl off, then head back out here for training. I just have to make sure nobody else sees my mask and nobody will be allowed to see my real face._ ", he thinks to himself as he tries to formulate a route from where their at to get to the eastern gate.

A man jumps out of the bushes with a knife and shouts, "Give me your money or die!", before pointing the knife at them. Minazuki isn't phased by his threat and just punches the man in the face so hard that it shatters his nose and sends him flying deep into the forest.

"Wow! That was amazing!", Anna exclaims in amazement as her eyes fill with wonder.

"It was nothing. Let's keep moving.", Minazuki replies as he takes her hand again and keeps heading for the Capital.

They continue on their path and Anna tries to strike up a conversation by asking, "Where are you from, Mister Monster?"

"It's best you don't know that. I'm just making sure you get home to your father alright.", Minazuki tells her, trying to keep her out of his business.

"Well, I grew up in Hana Village. It's a pretty small village. We don't have much, but we have lots of fish. Maybe I can show you it sometime?", Anna happily explains as she remembers her home.

Anna continues to make small talk until they finally arrive at the eastern gate and are met by four armed guards, one of which asks them, "Who goes there? It's past curfew!"

"I found this child in the forest. It seems her father lives here in the Capital. I am simply reuniting her with her father.", Minazuki answers as he motions to Anna.

"Please remove your mask. We'll need to see your face to verify you aren't a wanted man.", another guard requests, but Minazuki shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can not. I am a Monk and it is against my religion to remove my mask. Doing so is strictly forbidden outside of the temple.", Minazuki replies, lying perfectly through his teeth.

"I see, go ahead then, but do be careful. Dangerous men walk the streets at night.", the guard says before letting them through.

"Thank you, gentlemen.", Minazuki replies with a bow before heading through the gates with Anna.

* * *

The two head to the main part of the eastern district and Anna asks, "This place is so big, how can we ever find Father's workshop at night!?"

Minazuki stomps his foot and senses the area around to find all the shops. He finds that this place only has one blacksmith and says, "This way, his store should be in this direction.", before heading toward the store.

"How do you know that? Have you been here before?", Anna asks with a confused look on her face.

"Not at all, just call it a gut feeling.", Minazuki replies as he continues to guide her toward the store. They arrive where Minazuki believes to be Anna's father's shop, which is named 'Ken's Blades & Armor.' " _This seems like the place. Only one way to find out._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself before walking up to the door.

He knocks on the door and hears a man shout, "I'm coming! Who the hell's knockin' on my door so late?" A man with a bushy beard wearing only his boxers answers the door and bluntly asks, "Whatcha' want?"

Anna looks up to the man and shouts, "Father!", causing the man to look down and his eyes to widen with glee.

"A-Anna!? You're alive!? Thank God, you're alive!", the man exclaims as he drops to his knees and hugs her.

"I'm guessing you're Ken Shinu, Anna's father, right?", Minazuki asks as he looks down at them.

"Yes, that's me! How could I ever repay you for bringing me my daughter!?", Ken frantically replies as he holds his daughter.

"Don't worry about it. Just keep her safe.", Minazuki modestly replies as he waves him off.

"Thank you, Sir. Thank you for bringing my sweet Anna back to me. And please, where has my son gone off to?", Ken says as he looks up to Minazuki.

"Your son? I do not know. I happened upon a little bear in the forest and found a cave full of bandits, then one thing lead to another and now I'm here.", Minazuki explains as he starts walking away.

"Ah, so they probably got separated and bandits got my daughter. He'll be here sooner or later I bet! My son's a resourceful one, he is.", Ken says with a smile on his face.

"Yes, well, I better get going. I'd rather not stay in the Capital any longer than I need to.", Minazuki says as he starts walking away.

"Mister Monster!", Anna shouts, begging for him to turn around. He looks over his shoulder to see her waving to him. "Thank you very much, Mister Monster.", Anna says as she continues to wave.

Minazuki just chuckles to himself before saying, "Have a peaceful life, Anna.", and waving back to her while he continues walking away.

* * *

He continues to walk through the Capital, considering whether or not to leave and make camp out in the forest or to just take shelter underground here in the city. He happens upon some wanted posters and sees that they're posters for a group called Night Raid. There are three posters up, but it seems like there was a fourth one torn off the wall recently. One is an assassin named Akame, another is a former soldier named Bulat, and the final one is an ex-general named Najenda. The posters say that they're all wanted for various crimes including assassination and treason and that there are large rewards for whoever brings in their bodies and/or their Imperial Arms.

"Assassins, huh? And they're supposedly working for the Revolutionary Army. I should probably avoid pissing those guys off.", Minazuki says to himself before walking off. As he walks by the posters, he senses something odd down the nearby alley. When he walks down the alley, he feels the vibrations and it seems like there's some sort of meeting going on in one of the nearby buildings.

He hears a girl shout out, "Let us go, you freak!", before hearing the sound of someone getting hit. He senses three girls being held by three large men as seven men and a dog watched. The screams were from one of the girls and for her actions, the guy holding her punches her in the face and knees her in the gut.

Minazuki quickly busts down the steel door that was keeping him out with a single punch, sending it flying across the room. As it crashes into a wall, everyone looks over to see his ominous figure standing in the doorway.

"Hey! Who the hell are you!? Get the hell out of here!", one of the men demands, dressed in a white dress shirt, black dress pants and belt, and a red jacket and neck tie.

"Hey, get him out of here, now!", one of the men dressed in kimono orders as he points to Minazuki. On his request, three guards dressed in black suits and sunglasses rush toward Minazuki with knives, but Minazuki doesn't even flinch.

As one of the men runs up to him, trying to stabs him with his short blade, Minazuki dodges his attack as he knees him in the gut. The man reels back from this as his two comrades rush Minazuki down. Minazuki dodges in between the duo as they both go to slash at him, grabbing one of them by their hand as he moves along. With one quick motion, he forces one of the men to run their comrade through the eye with his knife as he runs the man straight into the other knife. As the third man rushes him down again, Minazuki stomps the ground once and a stone spear jets out of the ground, stabbing the man through the heart and causing everyone to look at him in horror and fear.

"W-what do ya want? Money!? We have money! Here, take it!", one of the nobles, who's wearing a kimono and a silly hat, exclaims as he tosses Minazuki a bag full of gold coins. Minazuki looks down at it before kicking it across the floor, then looking back at the four men with a glare.

"What's with this guy!? Does he want the girls!? Take them if you want them! You can do whatever you want with em, rape em, torture em, even kill em, we don't mind! Go right ahead, DO IT!", the guy in the dress clothes says nervously.

Minazuki ignores him and starts walking towards the girls before suddenly jetting stone spears out of the ceiling, right into the three guards' skulls, before retracting them back into stone. As their bodies fall to the floor, the girls let out shrieks of terror as they move away from the boy. Minazuki doesn't target them, however, and instead turns his attention towards the nobles and the well dressed man, who are shaking in terror as they look for a way to escape.

The third kimono wearing noble starts to get extremely nervous as Minazuki starts walking towards them and releases his dog as he orders, "Sic him Dog! Get his throat!"

To his surprise, Minazuki lets the dog get close, almost biting down into his neck before he grabs the beast by its open jaw. He quickly snaps the dog's neck before throwing its corpse at the man's feet.

"T-this guy isn't human! He's a demon! A demon!", the noble with the silly hat shouts before Minazuki shoots a spike through his head, killing him. He quickly kills the other two nobles with a few spears through their chests and heads before turning his attention to the red suit wearing guy trying to escape. Minazuki prevents his escape by quickly blocks off the exit, forming a wall over the open doorway he was trying to sneak out through.

"Hey, we're both reasonable people here. Come on, we can talk about this. You take whatever you want. All you have to do is let me go, and we won't ever see one another ever again. Okay?", he confidently tries to bargain, but Minazuki stabs him through his hands and feet, pinning him to the wall. The man screams out in pain, but Minazuki ignores him and turns his attention to the girls trembling behind the nearby couch. There are three of them: one dressed in pink, one in blue, and one in yellow, all of which had the same color hair as their clothes. The yellow one picks up one of the guards' knives and holds it as if she's about to cut him.

Minazuki quickly disarms her before saying, "You shouldn't try to use a weapon you know nothing about, you'll hurt yourself."

All three of them prepare to die as the man shouts, "Go on, have as much fun as ya want with em!"

Minazuki just pats the yellow girl on the head while saying, "You're alright, I'm not here to hurt you."

The girls look up at him in disbelief before he kneels down to them and says, "I'm a monk. I heard the commotion and decided to do something. How exactly did you three end up in this situation?"

"T-that man, his name is Bach. He bought us from our village. He was supposed to be our master, but he was trying to use us to make money off those nobles you killed a minute ago.", the blue one sheepishly replies, still somewhat nervous around Minazuki.

"So, that was his plan? I heard this place was full of all kinds of evils, but I didn't anticipate this kind of work. I guess it can't be helped.", Minazuki says as he gets to his feet.

He turns to Bach and says, "I guess you have to die then, Bach."

"No, please! I was a slave, just like them! I don't do this by choice, I swe-", Bach begins to beg before an earth spear goes straight through his skull, killing him instantly. The spikes in Bach's body retract and his body hits the floor with a thud.

The girls all yelp in fear, but Minazuki just moves the dead bodies over into a pile. He checks all of them for money, slowly getting a small fortune for his troubles on top of the bag full of gold coins that's still on the floor. Minazuki looks to the girls and says, "You three should head back to your village. There's no point staying here in such a wicked place at your age."

"B-but we don't have any money...", the pink one says as she starts to tear up.

Minazuki finds a coin purse big enough to hold all the money he's found on the corpses and stuffs it full. "There, that should be enough for you to get home and still have some left over to keep yourselves safe.", Minazuki says as he tosses the hefty coin purse to the yellow girl.

"T-there has to be thousands here! Are you sure?", the yellow one asks as she looks inside the coin purse.

"Well, it's not like they're using it now that they're dead. Just take it and get somewhere safe. Leave this place and never turn back.", Minazuki says as he opens the doorway and starts to head out.

Before he can leave, the pink girl shouts, "Mister, wait!" He looks back to see they're rushing over to him.

They all hug his legs while the pink one says, "Thank you very much, Mister."

"Yeah, you saved our asses back there, thanks.", the yellow one adds.

"We're in your debt.", the blue one says in a slightly less sheepish tone.

"You can thank me by surviving. Head home and try to avoid the Capital until it's been either reformed or destroyed. This place is full of evil, and it's no place for children.", Minazuki replies as he pats them each on the head.

"O-okay... we'll try our best to survive.", the pink one nervously replies as they all nod.

They let go of Minazuki and he heads out back into the dark city known as the Capital. "We'll never forget you!", the three girls shout happily as he walks down the alley and back into the street.

* * *

He continues through the Capital, heading for the northern gate, while taking in the few nice sights on the way. He sees what seems to be a clock tower in the distance and hears it gong twice before thinking, " _I bet it's a nice view from the top of that tower. I should be able to do some recon from up there and find the quickest way out of here._ ", before making his way to that tower.

When he gets close enough to see the time, he sees there's a battle going on between an Imperial soldier, her bear sized dog thing and two young girls, one wearing a purple dress and the other wearing a pink dress. The dog is mostly white with some black spots, bigger than eight feet tall with giant arms, standing on its hind legs.

"Pulverize them, Koro!", the soldier shouts as she points at the girls. The dog rushes toward the girls and starts throwing wild punches, leaving very few openings.

"What the hell!? That's impossible to dodge!", the short pink girl with the gun shouts in disbelief.

The purple girl with a giant pair of scissors steps in between her and the dog before saying, "Mine! Stay behind me!"

She holds up the scissors to block the attack, but Minazuki jumps between her and the dog, punching its attacks at an equal speed and force to cancel out his attacks. "Who the-", the purple girl begins to ask before Minazuki starts to force the dog back, slowly overwhelming it.

"Reinforcements? You evil doers are no match for justice!", the soldier says as she tries to identify Minazuki, but fails as his face and mask are hidden by the hood of his cloak, before blowing a whistle.

"She's calling for reinforcements... This is quite the pinch!", the pink girl notes with a slight grin. She jumps up in the air and shoots down at the dog with one giant beam while shouting, "Then let's do this!" The shot melts half the dog's body, but it quickly starts to regenerate after just a few seconds. "Shit! It's already regenerating!? That's so annoying!", the pink girl growls in her frustration as she lands behind the dog.

Minazuki notices that the purple girl is missing and thinks, " _Where did she go? She was here a minute ago. Doesn't matter now, I have to focus on taking this mutt down._ " He rushes toward the dog once more and starts landing blow after blow on it, putting holes in it with every punch.

He suddenly senses the purple girl coming out of a bush behind the soldier as the soldier says, "It's pointless, Koro's durability is beyond your comprehension."

The soldier suddenly sees the purple girl approaching as the purple girl says, "The Imperial Arms are just tools. Without their user, they're useless! That means all I have to do is take you out first!" The purple girl shouts, "Ecstasy!", and a bright flashing purple light starts to come from her weapon.

" _So these weapons are all Imperial Arms. Interesting._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he continues to fight Koro. Minazuki and Koro glance over to see the purple girl stabbing at the soldier, but she seems to be holding her own pretty well.

Koro tries to go back to his master to help, but the pink girl shoots off one of his legs. "Hey, where do you think you're going? You're a little busy here.", she says confidently as she aims to fire again. Minazuki notices this and rushes in for another wave of attacks while Koro's still on the ground.

The purple girl also manages to force the soldier on the defensive and pushes her back into the nearby park where Minazuki can't see or sense them.

After a minute of combat, they hear a single gunshot over from the park before hearing the soldier scream out in pain. "Koro! Use your trump card! Go berserk!", the soldier shouts, causing Koro to become even more buff, his sharp teeth to become somewhat sharper, and his fur to turn a dark red. He lets out a terrible roar that forces the girls to cover their ears while Minazuki is punched full force by one of Koro's giant fists.

He's sent back first into a tree before falling to his hands and knees. " _That little shit!_ ", Minazuki thinks as he holds his chest in pain. Koro quickly grabs the pink girl as she's still reeling from the roar and starts to squeeze her.

"Crush her! Turn her into paste!", the soldier shouts maniacally. Minazuki hears the sound of the girl's arm snapping as Koro starts to crush her in his giant hand and she screams out in pain. Minazuki tries to get to his feet to save her, but before he can, the purple girl comes to her aid. She uses her Imperial Arm to cut off Koro's arm, freeing the pink girl from his grasp.

Minazuki starts to relax before hearing the sound of a gun preparing to fire. He senses something like the barrel of a rifle coming out of the soldier's mouth and turns to see she's about to shoot the purple girl in the back. "I seem to have made it just in time, huh Mine?", the purple girl says to the pink one.

"Sheele!", the pink girl says happily. The soldier fires her mouth gun, but Minazuki punches the ground and forms a wall that blocks the shot, saving the girl named Sheele.

"What? Where did that-", Mine begins to ask before Minazuki moves to their side and says, "Her reinforcements will be here in a few seconds."

"How do you-", Sheele begins to ask before the soldier shouts, "Koro, eliminate them! Now!" Koro leaps at them with his giant mouth wide open, still missing his arm, trying to eat them all at once, but Minazuki launches twenty earth spears through Koro's body. Koro is stuck in place, suspended mid air by the spears that pierced his body.

"You filthy Night Raiders! I'll get you and make you taste justice!", the soldier shouts as after the barrel goes back in her mouth. Minazuki goes to end her life, but finds that they're all surrounded by a hoard of Imperial soldiers with guns, spears and swords.

"Over here! They're battling!", a soldier shouts as the entire group aims their weapons at them.

"It looks like we're surrounded.", Sheele notes with a slight frown.

"Yeah, looks like we have an uphill battle ahead of us.", Mine adds before trying to aim her weapon at the enemy, but fails as she grabs her arm in pain.

"Mine! Don't over do it!", Sheele begs, concerned for her health.

"We're getting out of here. Stay close.", Minazuki coldly suggests before glancing through the crowd, noticing all the soldiers aren't wearing eye protection. He sees there's a lot of dirt on the ground from how much damage they'd done to the area. He launches Koro's giant body toward its user, trying to make a small distraction. It works and her reinforcements are mesmerized by the giant dog being tossed so far by seemingly nothing as one of the soldiers exclaims, "W-what's going on!? Is that dog going wild!?" Minazuki uses this to his advantage and stomps the ground, causing dirt to go flying through the air, creating a small sandstorm that blinds the soldiers.

"W-what the hell was that!? Where did this come from!?", one of the soldiers shouts as they all cover their eyes for their own protection.

"No, you idiots! Fire, FIRE!", the beaten up soldier shouts in frustration as Koro's giant body almost crushes her. The soldiers all open fire at the center of the sandstorm, but when it dies down, they see that there's no trace of anybody there.

"They got away.", one of the soldiers notes in frustration as they look around for their targets.

The wounded soldier sits next to her Imperial Arm before shouting, "Don't just stand around like idiots! Go find them! They couldn't have gone far! Move, move, MOVE!", causing all the soldiers to salute and run off, searching for their targets.

* * *

With Minazuki and the two Night Raid members, they're in the sewers of the Capital heading north in secret. "That was pretty resourceful. How did you know there was a sewer system right under our feet?", Sheele asks as the three of them walk through the underground tunnels together.

"I just knew.", Minazuki bluntly replies before abruptly stopping. The girls both bump into him and Mine growls, "Why did you stop? We need to get out of here quickly, right?"

Minazuki takes her Imperial Arm out of her hand before giving it to Sheele and saying, "We need to set that arm of yours. The longer we leave it the longer it'll take for it to heal. I have some medical supplies in my bag."

"Like I'd let some stranger touch me like that! Just get us out of here!", Mine shouts aggressively as she pushes the boy away.

He quickly makes a sling out of some bandage wrap from his bag and sets her arm before tying it together over her shoulder as Mine tries desperately to push him away.

"Hey! Keep your hands off me! Or I'll-", Mine begins to shout before Minazuki says, "You'll what, try to kill me? I could bring this whole tunnel down on us with a thought, so just calm yourself for a moment." This causes Mine to stop instantly, looking around to see that the tunnels are all made of stone as her eyes begin to widen.

"He's right Mine, you need medical treatment. And if he's nice enough to help us once, I don't see why we should turn him down now.", Sheele says as she hands her back the gun type Imperial Arm.

Mine groans and reluctantly says, "Fine, but if you try anything funny while we're down here, Sheele and I will kill you, got it!?"

Minazuki turns and starts leading them through the sewers heading for the north side of the Capital. "So, what's your name? And where did you get that Imperial Arm?", Sheele kindly asks, trying to make small talk.

"Imperial Arms? I don't know anything of the sort. I'm just a simple monk.", Minazuki replies, trying to convince them like he did Esdeath.

"A monk? Yeah right, monks don't fight like that. You want to tell us what you really are?", Mine shoots back with a glare.

"Can we at least get your name?", Sheele gently asks with a slightly saddened look on her face.

"I don't think so. The less anybody knows about me, the easier it'll be for me to disappear.", he coldly replies with a slight glare at the two over his shoulder.

They arrive northern portion of the tunnels and Minazuki opens the man hole above them, letting them escape out into the forest outside of the Capital's northern gate. After he jumps out, he reaches down to help them up. Sheele wraps one arm around Mine before taking Minazuki's hand with her free hand and waiting to be lifted up. To his surprise, he lifts them both up with little effort and thinks, " _They're surprisingly light. I guess that's the power of Quake's strength boost._ "

As they come to the surface they look around to get a feel for the environment before Mine and Sheele look to Minazuki. "I guess this is where we part ways?", Sheele asks with a smile.

Minazuki just turns away from them before starting to walk off, heading north as he leaves the girls behind.

"Hey! She's trying to be nice, you jerk!", Mine shouts in frustration as the boy ignores Sheele's kind gesture.

"You know, Night Raid could use someone like you. Would you, like to join?", Sheele offers as she starts to follow him.

"Sheele! We can't just hand out applications to Night Raid to strangers!", Mine shouts at her, scolding her for doing such a thing.

"Come on, Mine. We could use all the help we can get and this guy seems more than adequate at our line of work.", Sheele suggests, trying to convince her to join in.

"You can stop arguing, because I'm not joining your little assassin squad. I'm not a fan of this Empire, but I have my own plans.", Minazuki bluntly replies before walking off on his own, leaving the two assassins to do as they please.

* * *

He walks off alone, making sure to keep an eye out to see they start following him. After a while, he stops to check if the girls were just following far behind him, but finds that he's completely alone. He decides to take a break and finally check his body for wounds.

" _That Imperial Arm managed to land a good punch on me back there. Now that I've got some time, I should do a quick check._ ", he thinks to himself as he sits his bag down. He gently pats his body down, looking for any wounds and as he feels his left shoulder, a sharp pain shoots through him.

He slowly takes off his cloak and shirt to see he has a decent sized cut from hitting the tree so hard and that he'd been bleeding this whole time without even realizing it. With a loud sigh, he says to himself, "I couldn't just catch a break and get through one night without a scratch, could I? I guess I should feel lucky since I've been in three fights so far tonight."

He sets up a small camp for the night, building a small fire with a log for a seat before starting to patch up his wounded shoulder. Once he starts patching himself up, he senses a danger beast heading straight for him through the forest. A few seconds later, he's met by a large black bear that roars at him before trying to slash at him with its giant claws. He wails the bear in the face with a mighty punch before stabbing it through its skull with a stone spear.

" _I guess I don't have to hunt for dinner tonight. I just love it when things just fall into place._ ", he thinks as he glances over to the bear's corpse.

After tending to his wounds, he roasts the bear's meat over the fire and makes somewhat of a blanket out of the fur, using it to keep warm. He suddenly remembers the book that Yata gave him and pulls it out to see what exactly he was talking about. When he opens the book, at first it seems to be written in some sort of impossible to explain language, but then it starts to clear up into simple English. As he reads through it, he sees drawings of weapons along with names in large text.

"Pumpkin: Weapon Type: Gun. Abilities: Long and short range attacks and powered my emotion. Trump Card: The power of Pumpkin's shots are increased depending on the amount of danger the user is in.", he reads to himself as he looks at the picture to see it looks just like the gun that girl had with her.

On the next page was the other girl's weapon, Ecstasy. "Ecstasy: Weapon Type: Giant Scissors. Abilities: Highly defensive and offensive since the steel to make the blades is able to cut through nearly any material with ease along with blocking most attacks. Trump Card: Ecstasy is able to produce a bright flashing light from its blade that will distract and blind most enemies. This is an odd Trump Card, but can come in handy in a pinch.", he reads as the words become legible.

"So, is this a book full of Imperial Arms? Who wrote such a book?", Minazuki asks himself before flipping to the first page to try to find the author's name somewhere. He flipped through the entire book searching for any names of any kind, but it wasn't until he reached the last page and read it that he knew who exactly wrote this book.

"To any who wield my mighty gauntlets, Quake, I leave to you my journal. It contains all the other Imperial Arms that I've encountered through my travels. I heard talk of the Great Emperor making himself one for himself, but he's more of a man of peace than battle, so it's unlikely that he'll make too much of a dangerous weapon. Use this knowledge to help the people and bring evil to its knees. -Shoryu", he reads out loud before looking at the name in aw.

" _Shoryu wrote this book? And it probably has almost all the Imperial Arms in here if I had to guess._ ", he thinks to himself as he quickly flipped through the book.

He then flips to a page that shows a sword and a set of armor. "Murasame, The One Hit Kill Sword. Incursio, The Demon Armor. All these Imperial Arms, they sound incredible. And they were each made from an S class danger beast? How did they even find so many?", he says as he continues to read through the book. After reading every entry thoroughly, he puts the book away for the night and leans against a rock to try to get some sleep.


	5. Kill the Choice

As Minazuki opens his eyes, he finds his face in the soft dirt. He pushes himself up off the ground and dusts the dirt from his face before his eyes widen in confusion. " _Where's my mask?_ ", he thinks to himself before frantically looking around for his mask. As he looks around, he finds himself in front of a small campfire as Izunaga sits in front of it, glancing over at him with a confused glare.

"Finally awake I see.", his master notes before closing his eyes and returning to his mediation.

"Izunaga? What are you-", Minazuki begins to ask before the man opens his eyes and looks up to the sky, causing Minazuki to go silent as he does so.

Izunaga looks to the sun and says, "Looks like it's time to move. Let's get moving." As his mentor stand up, holding his sword in one hand, Minazuki follows suit, going with him as he walks off through the forest.

" _What's going on? Where am I?"_ , Minazuki thinks to himself as he looks around before remembering something. As he tries to figure out what's going on, a lone wolf leaps out from the bushes, catching the boy off guard. Izunaga, however, quickly decapitates the beast with a single slice of his blade.

" _This already happened!_ ", Minazuki shouts in his head as he watches Izunaga clean his blade of the wolf's blood with a swing of his blade, painting a nearby tree in the liquid.

"You should stay aware of your surroundings, Minazuki. If you don't optimize your sixth sense, you'll never know when there might be an enemy looming around the corner. You'd do best to remember that lesson.", Izunaga scolds the boy as they walk further into the forest.

" _This was my first mission with Izunaga back when I first got my Imperial Arm... But why am I remembering this?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he gives Izunaga a nod.

As they reach a small cliff overlooking the road below them, Izunaga motions for him to stop as he crouches down into a nearby bush. He motions for Minazuki to join him, and as he does, Izunaga whispers, "They'll be coming through here shortly. We'll have to take them out quickly to keep them from reaching the village."

" _Wait, is this because-_ ", Minazuki begins to think before hearing the sound of a small army marching down below. They both look down to see Imperial soldiers as they march along their path towards the village.

"Alright, they don't seem to have noticed us yet. First, aim for their leader. Once they've fallen into chaos we'll strike them down as a whole.", Izunaga explains as he keeps low, making sure to keep their presence hidden. He looks back to Minazuki and when he sees the confused look on the boy's face, he sternly whispers, "What are you doing? Keep your focus, or they get through to the village!"

This snaps Minazuki back into the situation and as the boy closes his eyes, he senses a well armored man in the center of all the soldiers. When he looks down to them, he sees that the man is carrying a large spear on his back, the weapon nearly as long as the man's body.

"I see them, but-", Minazuki begins to whisper before turning around to see his mentor glaring at him.

"If you hesitate now, you'll die.", Izunaga coldly scolds the boy with a stern glare, causing the boy to let out a loud gulp. Izunaga crosses his arms as he sits down and explains, "This is your first mission, Minazuki. I'm not going to help you, so make sure you do it right. Everything is counting on your victory here."

With the pressure looming over him, Minazuki looks down at the soldiers as Izunaga continues pushing the boy, whispering, "If you fail here, everyone you know and love will die. They'll all die and it'll be your fault." Overwhelmed by the pressure from his mentor and his desire not to fail, Minazuki quickly punches the ground with his gauntlets, causing spikes to fly out from the stone cliffs and walkway, piercing the Imperial soldier's leader throughout his body before anyone can notice what's happening.

"W-what was that!? Commander!? COMMANDER!?", one of the soldiers exclaims as the commander falls to the ground, dead. The rest of the soldiers look around frantically as the soldier shouts, "Who's there!? Show yourselves, cowards!"

Minazuki rushes down there to confront the soldiers, jumping down and landing on one knee as he punches the ground, causing spikes to jet out of the ground and run some of the soldiers through. This attack, however, didn't kill all the soldiers as some of them started their own onslaught, one rushes towards Minazuki while the others started shooting arrows and bolts at the boy.

As he weaves his way between the arrows and bolts, he punches one of the soldiers charging at him, using the man as a human shield to block the other soldiers' ranged attacks. When he finally gets close enough, he throws the dead body into the two archers before punching the other marksman's bolt right out of the air. Before he can reload another bolt into his crossbow, Minazuki punches the guy straight in the gut before coming down hard on the guy's neck with a stiff elbow, sending the man crashing into the ground.

His attention quickly shifts back over to the two archers as they unleash a volley of arrows at him, which he barely manages to dodge as he only takes a few cuts across his arms and face. He manages to catch one of the arrows as he rushes towards the duo, however, and tosses it back with all his might. One of the archers manages to dodge the attack, but the other isn't as lucky as the dirt around his feet forms into a claw that grabs him, holding him in place and causing him to take the arrow right in the chest.

As the archer sees this, she boils over with rage and shouts, "You bastard, I'll kill you!" She goes to unleash more arrows onto Minazuki, but the boy closes the gap before she can draw her string back. With one clean motion, Minazuki punches through the woman's bow, causing it to break. The woman doesn't falter, however, switching instantly to her dagger as she goes to stab Minazuki in the neck, shouting, "I'll make you pay!" But before she can land the killing blow, Minazuki runs her through the chest with a stone spear jetting out from under their feet. This causes the archer to drop her knife instantly before muttering, "I hope...you rot in hell...you scum...", as she passes.

The archer falls limp on the spear, her body's weight causing her to sink further onto the spear's length and leaving a large amount of blood. As Minazuki looks around, the smell of blood seems to fill the air as he sees what he's done. "W-what did I do!? These people...they had lives...families...and I-", he begins to mutter to himself as he looks down at his shaking hands.

He's quickly cut off when he hears Esdeath tell him, "You killed them all." He turns around to see her standing behind him with a cheeky smile on her face.

"S-stay away from me!", Minazuki shouts as he prepares to fight, but she doesn't seem phased by this.

Much to his surprise, she extends a hand out to him as she says, "Come on, must we be enemies? Are we really that different you and I? We're both killers after all."

"No! I'm nothing like you! I'm not a monster!, he proclaims as he throws a punch at her.

She easily evades his attack, dodging behind him as she replies, "Do you think so? Perhaps you should look back at your handiwork here, boy?"

As he turns around to face her, he sees his village in ruins, reeking of blood and death. He covers his mouth in disgust as Esdeath places a gentle hand on his shoulder, letting out a slight chuckle at the sight. "See? You **are** a monster. You slaughtered them all just moments after smiling to their faces and having a party no less, I'm impressed.", Esdeath notes as she smiles down at him, but he swats her away, trying desperately to keep the woman away from him.

"You're wrong! I had to do that! I had t-", he begins to say before he hears a familiar voice call out to him.

"Minazuki..", the voice calls out, and when he turns around, he sees Phi standing where the archer once was with a stone spike through her chest. "Why did you do this to me, Minazuki? I..I thought you loved me... Why..?", she continues, causing the boy to back away in fear.

" _This is just a nightmare! This isn't real! It's all in my head!_ ", Minazuki thinks in his panic as he tries desperately to get everything back under control.

"Oh, but your sins are very real, Minazuki. You killed all these people in cold blood, not even thinking about how they felt about it. You and I are so much alike, it's almost scary.", Esdeath notes as she puts her hands on his shoulders. He quickly turns around as he launches stone spears at her from every angle, but instead of Esdeath standing there, he sees his father.

"Son..how could you? To your own family no less...", his father mutters as the blood begins to drip from the stone spears piercing his chest. Minazuki suddenly feels a light tug at his pant leg and turns to see it's his brother, but he's crawling on the ground with his legs seeming crushed and leaking blood as he pulls himself along.

"Big bro, can you help me? I can't walk anymore...", the boy begs as he tugs on his brother's pant leg, causing the boy's eyes to widen in horror. He quickly pulls away from the boy as he stumbles backwards, falling back on his ass as he sees the entire population of Tapu Village standing before him in almost a zombified state.

The hoard of undead friends and neighbors slowly shambles towards him, asking things like, "Why did you do this to us", "How could you!?", "Why couldn't I have lived!?", and "Why me?" He didn't have an answer, instead he just kept backing away until he ran into something. As he turns his head to see what it was, he sees it's Esdeath, who's just grinning menacingly at him. He suddenly feels a sharp pain through his chest and when he looks down, he sees she's run him through with her rapier.

She chuckles to herself before scolding him, saying, "You're so soft, I almost feel bad killing you, almost. Even if you stayed behind to save them, they would've met the same fate, so why does it matter? You should just enjoy being a monster! You should be happy you're like me!" As she pulls her rapier out of his back, he falls to his knees holding the wound as blood spews out. She circles around him as she says, "But I guess, in the end, you were just weak." She comes to a stop as she stands in front of him, brandishing her rapier in her right hand as it's stained with Minazuki's blood. She smiles down at him and says, "Well, the weak die and the strong live. It can't be helped.", before quickly slicing off his head with one clean swing of her sword.

As he dies in his dream, Minazuki jets back to life in the real world, gasping for air as he suddenly springs forward from his position on the rock. He quickly reaches for his face, pulling off his mask as he desperately tries to catch his breath. He slowly regains his composure as he looks around to see he's back at the camp he setup last night with the sun slowly raising itself up into the sky.

"It..it was all a dream... a dream..", he mutters to himself as he continues to catch his breath. He wipes away the sweat on his brow as he says, "I should get moving. I've been here too long, someone might find me." He quickly returns his mask to his face before throwing on his cloak and putting up his hood to hide even further. With one quick swing of his arm, buries all evidence of his campsite under the dirt, hiding even what's left of the Danger Beast's corpse under the nearby trees as he continues on his journey to the north east.

* * *

As Minazuki treks through the forest, avoiding the main roads to prevent anyone from spotting him, he happens upon a pleasant sight. A warm wave of air envelopes him as he sees a a small hotspring through the trees. "A hotspring? After what I've been through, I could really use this.", Minazuki notes as he takes off his bag and starts to take off his clothes.

He opens up his bag and pulls out one of the towels he snagged back at that bandit cave before thinking, " _I might not be able to show my face, but at least I can bathe in peace._ " He sets his clothes on top of his bag and his towel on top of that before getting into the hotspring with only his mask, a pair of swimming trunks and Quake on.

As he starts to sink into the hotspring, he feels the warm water relaxing every muscle in his body. " _Ah, this isn't half bad. Now, where do I go from here?_ ", he thinks to himself before reaching over to his bag and pulling out a map. He looks at the map and sees that there aren't any villages near where he's at now. He sighs and says, "I guess I just keep heading north east and try my best to find those ultra danger beasts Izunaga talked about."

His train of thought is instantly derailed as he closes his eyes to relax and senses footsteps coming his way. He quickly tenses up as he sits up in the water, thinking, " _What the!? What are people doing all the way out here!? Could they be after me already? Maybe those Imperial soldiers were able to track me down? No, I covered my tracks perfectly! Then how did they..._ " He quickly calms himself before focusing in on the footsteps and as he takes in every detail of each step they take, he thinks, " _Alright, there's only three of them. A burly guy with a big set of armor and a spear, a woman without any weapons, and...a ninja? They're moving so quickly and their footsteps are so light, I can barely get a reading on them._ "

He quickly shoves his map back in his bag and waits to see what happens. " _If I run now, they'll surely catch up to me if they're decent trackers. I should be able to handle myself with just three of them._ ", he thinks to himself as he waits for the unknown band of people to come to him. He senses the three people form a perimeter around him in the forest, hiding their presences perfectly to the ordinary human senses.

" _They formed a perimeter around me to keep me from running... Are they here to kill me then? Or maybe they just plan to rob me? Doesn't matter._ ", he thinks to himself as he sense the ninja going for their sword. The ninja rushes in and when they do so, he sees a girl with long black hair and crimson eyes rush out of the bushes wielding a katana and wearing a black and red outfit with a skirt and arm guards. She goes to strike him down, but Minazuki blocks the attack with Quake before leaping out of the water to the opposite side of the hotspring from her.

She rushes in again with rapid slashes, but Minazuki manages to block every hit before catching the blade with his hands. He turns his whole body and pulls the sword right out of her hands. With a quick punch to the ground, he buries the blade deep underground in a hole, though it doesn't seem to phase the girl.

" _That's one enemy disarmed. Now to land the killing blow!_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself before trying to take the offensive. He throws a punch at the girl, but she nimbly dodges his fist. He manages to slide the ground under her feet in just the right way for him to be able to land the blow, but it's blocked by the man wearing a suit of armor as he moves in front of the girl, crossing his arms as he takes the blunt of the attack.

Though the man blocked the attack, he's sent flying by the raw force of the impact. "Bulat!", the black haired girl shouts as the man goes flying.

"Bulat? That man from the pos-", Minazuki begins to say before he recognizes the girl as Akame of Night Raid. "Night Raid. What does a group of assassins want with a monk?", Minazuki says as he keeps an eye out for the woman.

Bulat gets up and says, "You're strong, I'll give ya that, but we're under orders to take you out. You got too close to our base I'm afraid."

"Murasame, the one hit kill sword and Incursio, the demon armor. Those are dangerous Imperial Arms you have there.", Minazuki notes as he tries to sense the woman and finds her stalking around in the nearby bushes.

"So, you know about our Imperial Arms then? What else do you know?", Akame bluntly asks with a glare.

"I know there's one more of you and she's trying to wait for an opening to attack, but doesn't seem to know that I can sense her. What a shame, if it were any normal person she'd have been able to sneak right by my defenses and eliminate me with little to no effort.", Minazuki replies as he glances over to the woman hiding in the bush.

Suddenly, the woman leaps out at him like a wild animal. She has long wild blonde hair, cat ears, large breasts hidden behind a bra, no shirt, crotchless brown and white pants, black leathery panties, black boots, and a belt that resembles one of the Imperial Arms that he read about in that book last night, Lionelle, on. Her hands are like lion claws and she's planning on using them to rip through Minazuki's throat. He manages to duck under her attack as he retrieves his bag to keep it safe.

"Damn it, he wasn't bluffing. How could he sense me that easily?", the blonde asks as she lands by Akame and Bulat.

"I'll ask again. What do you want?", Minazuki growls at the group as he gives them a focused glare.

"We just want you dead!", the blonde happily replies before rushing at him with Bulat following close behind her.

Minazuki dodges both of their attacks while saying, "I help your little friends escape the Imperial Soldiers and this is the thanks I get? That's quite rude, Night Raid." He leaps over Bulat's spear and kicks him straight in the head, sending him flying into the blonde and both go tumbling into the hotspring.

"Wait, you're the monk who helped Sheele and Mine?", Akame asks after retreating back to the blonde and Bulat, making sure they're alright.

"That little girl with Pumpkin and the girl with Ecstasy?", Minazuki asks as he lowers his fists slightly. Akame nods and Minazuki replies, "So they really were with Night Raid, interesting."

"So, you're an ally?", the blonde asks with a confused glance as she gets out of the hotspring, drenched in water.

"I'm not an enemy, but I haven't decided whether or not to be an ally of a group of assassins just yet.", Minazuki answers as he tosses her his towel.

She happily takes it and uses it to dry herself off as Bulat asks, "You don't want to support the Revolutionary Army? That's just as bad as supporting the Empire."

"I have my own plans. All I need to do is get a better understanding of Quake's abilities and I'll be able to get close enough to the palace to topple the whole building down on top of everyone inside.", Minazuki growls, not wanting any help.

"You think they'll just let anyone into the palace? You're either crazy or stupid.", the blonde mocks with a slight chuckle.

"I won't be above ground. I'll attack from below and get out undetected.", Minazuki explains, as he glares over at the woman, but Akame just shakes her head.

"Just killing the Prime Minister and the Emperor won't be enough you know. The whole government needs to be purged.", Akame explains as she takes a couple steps towards the boy.

"Yeah, I know the...but that'd be a good start, right?", Minazuki replies with a slight hint of doubt.

"How about this? You come join our group and we can work together to take down the Prime Minister and the Emperor. We'll bring about a new order together.", the blonde suggests as she tosses his towel back to him. After catching the towel, he takes a moment to think the offer over and recalls Izunaga saying that this would be his new life and to leave his old one behind.

"I'll observe your group. If it's worth joining, I don't see why I shouldn't lend you my power.", Minazuki answers with a stomp, causing Murasame to be sent out of the ground like a sword sticking out of a stone. "You can have that back now. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't get nicked and died. That's one dangerous blade.", Minazuki adds as he motions for Akame to take it. She walks up to the blade and pulls it out of the ground without any hesitation before sheathing it and turning away from him.

"Hey, come on, you should be happy! Our family's growing again!", the blonde says as her cat ears disappear and her claw hands turn into normal human hands.

"Come on Leone, let's take this guy back to the Boss and get her opinion on him.", Bulat suggest as they all start walking away without Minazuki.

Minazuki quickly gets dressed, not worried about losing them before following after them.

* * *

As they make their way to through the forest, Minazuki follows behind them, keeping a bit of distance from the group so if they decide to revoke their deal and try to murder him again he'd be able to quickly react to their sudden turning.

"Hey, why are ya all the way back there for? If you're going to be part of the family, you should at least walk by us, right?", Leone asks him with a confused look as she glances over her shoulder at the boy.

"Don't take this personally, but not trusting assassins you've just met is common sense. Akame has a sword that can kill almost any living thing with just a scratch. I'm keeping my distance from that for now.", Minazuki bluntly replies as he looks up at the woman.

A smug grin comes across the blonde's face as she hears this before saying, "Fine, if you won't come up here, I'll come back there to you~" She turns back and walks over to Minazuki's right side and says, "See, this isn't too bad, right?"

He rolls his eyes at this and asks, "You just have to have your way, don't you?"

She snickers happily at this and replies, "You already know me so well."

His focus shifts back to Akame and Bulat and he sees that they are keeping a firm grip on their weapons as they continue to walk ahead of them. "Why exactly are you letting your guard down? Those two haven't let up on their weapons since we've started walking together.", Minazuki asks as he looks over to Leone, causing the woman to give him a confused glance.

She puts a finger on her chin as she looks up trying to think of an answer before saying, "Don't know. I'm usually not this calm. I'm kind of laid back, but my instincts usually tell me if there's something up. I don't sense that with you though. It's like, you're already one of us somehow." She leans over to his ear and says, "My turn to ask you a question. What's with the mask?"

He lets out a chuckle before saying, "I'm a monk. Of course I'd wear a mask."

She sighs and says, "You're a pretty good at lying, but I can sense that you're lying. One of the advantages of Lionelle is increased senses and awareness."

"I can sense that you're bluffing you know. A person's heartbeat spikes slightly when they try to lie or bluff.", Minazuki bluntly replies, causing the girl to hang her head slightly in defeat.

"Aww, I thought I had you for sure! I guess you're like Akame, nothing gets past you that easily.", Leone happily adds as she waves off her defeated expression.

"I'll ask a different question since I get the feeling you weren't answering that last one honestly. What's your name?", Leone asks as she puts her hands behind her head and looks up to the sky as they walk.

He glances over to her and doesn't see the harm in just telling her his name before saying, "Minazuki."

"Minazuki? That's one I haven't heard before. Well Minazuki, I hope the Boss lets you join. You seem tough as hell. You took on the three of us all at once and better yet you walked away without even a scratch on you.", Leone replies wholeheartedly as she greets him with a warm smile.

Minazuki glances over to her and sees her smile, which seems to radiate warmth, causing him to smile slightly under his mask.

* * *

After some walking, they arrive at a giant house in the mountain side and Leone says, "We're here, now let's talk to the Boss and see if she'll let you join."

"This is your base?", Minazuki asks as he looks at the house. It's huge in size is entirely made out of stone it seems.

"Yep, pretty cool, huh?", Bulat replies as he gives Minazuki a thumb up from inside his armor.

Minazuki sighs as they continue to walk toward the door. Before they reach the door, Minazuki takes off Quake and puts the gauntlets in his bag.

Leone raises an eyebrow at this and asks, "Hey, why are ya hiding your Imperial Arm? Nobody's gonna take it from ya or anything."

"I'm not hiding it, I'm disarming myself. It's for your team's peace of mind. Quake is a gauntlet type Imperial Arm capable of Terrakinesis and other earth based techniques. Wearing them in this kind of structure would give me an overwhelming advantage.", Minazuki replies before zipping up his bag.

"Terrakinesis? That explains why I almost got hit by your attack. You shifted my footing to put me right in your cross hairs.", Akame notes with a slightly impressed look on her face.

"Yes, it's a dirty trick, but after you figure it out it's easy to avoid.", Minazuki replies as he glances over at the assassin.

Bulat knocks on the door three times and for a moment there's silence before they hear a boy ask, "What's the password?"

"Tatsumi~ It's your big sis, let us in, okay~ We brought something back from the mission~", Leone happily replies with a slight grin. The door opens and they see a boy with short brown hair and green eyes dressed in an apron and brown pants, with a dress shirt and overcoat underneath.

Leone snickers at his appearance before he says, "Big sis! It's not funny!"

"Oh come on Tatsumi, it's hilarious!", she jokingly replies as she pats him on his shoulders.

Tatsumi turns to see Minazuki and asks, "Who's that guy? A monk?"

"He's the guy we were sent to kill and the one who saved Mine and Sheele last night from those Imperial soldiers.", Akame explains as she points to Minazuki.

"And I thought since he seemed pretty strong, we should see if the Boss would let him join, you know?", Leone adds with a grin on her face.

"Ah, Leone, so I send you three out to take care of an intruder and you bring him home? Isn't that just lovely?", a woman sitting in a fancy chair with short silver hair, an eye patch, and a mechanical arm says with a sigh.

"Come on Boss, he's an Imperial Arms user and hates the Empire. He's just the kind of person we look for.", Leone replies to her as they all walk inside.

"I don't see why I-", she begins to say before she sees Minazuki's mask. Her reluctant face turns to pure shock as she says, "W-where did you get that mask!? You can't be him!"

"Him?", Leone asks with a confused look.

"Years ago a man wore this mask and used the same Imperial Arm I use. He was known as Shoryu, the Redeemer.", Minazuki explains as he puts his hand over the mask.

"He was a bandit who stole from the rich and greedy and gave to the less fortunate. It was said that he died to save his fellow bandits by opening up a fissure in the earth big enough to consume an entire city.", their Boss further explains as she stands up from her seat. "So I take it you aren't the Shoryu of legend, correct?", she asks as she looks down upon him.

"No, that man died long ago. Only his Imperial Arm and this mask remain.", Minazuki replies as he lowers his hand from his mask.

Her eye begins to twitch as she glares over at Leone with a furious rage in her eye as she asks, "Leone, did you bring a Terrakinesis using Imperial Arms user into our base..?"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool, huh?", Leone nervously replies smile as she waves her hands defensively.

"To be fair Boss, we also brought him here.", Bulat adds trying to keep Leone from taking all the blame.

"And he disarmed himself before entering the base.", Akame also adds as she points to the boy's bag.

"She was the one who suggested he join, wasn't she? And he had to disarm himself instead of any of you confiscating his Imperial Arm?", their Boss asks and Akame and Bulat both nod. The Boss sighs before saying, "And I'm guessing you've tested his abilities then?"

Akame shakes her head no and says, "He was able to beat the three of us all at once, but we haven't seen all he has to offer yet."

"Then he holds potential. That's good, right?", Leone asks as she looks around for everyone else's thoughts.

"I guess, but I'd like to see about this other part of the story. You claim to be the one who helped Mine and Sheele escape the Imperial Army and return to our base safely, is that correct?", the Boss says with a glance.

He nods before seeing Sheele walk into the room. As she sees him, a smile forms on her face and she says, "I knew you'd change your mind! I just knew it! But, how did you find this place? I could've swore nobody was following us."

"These three tried to kill me. They were hell bent on it too until I mentioned how I helped you two escape the Capital last night.", Minazuki replies, somewhat surprising the purple girl as she raises an eyebrow at this.

"Oh, well I'm still happy to see you here. Are you joining Night Raid then?", Sheele notes as she looks to the boy with a smile.

"So this is the guy you were talking about then, Sheele?", Tatsumi asks as he squints at Minazuki with a hint of suspicion.

Sheele nods her head yes and replies with, "That's the same voice and mask, but he wore a cloak the whole time, so I didn't get to notice any other characteristics."

"Hey, where'd everybody go-", Mine begins to say as she enters the room from one of the nearby hallways before turning to see Minazuki standing there. "Hey it's that creep from last night! The guy who touched my arm! Kill him!", Mine shouts as she points at Minazuki with her one good hand.

"So they both confirm his story. Very well, since you assisted two of our members and show promise in combat, we'll let you join Night Raid.", the Boss says as she holds her hand out to him as if holding the offer in her hand.

"What!? You're letting this guy in!?", Mine exclaims as she turns to the Boss, continuing to point at Minazuki as she does so.

She simply nods to her and Mine quickly lets out a sigh of disapproval. "You plan to make the Prime Minister and the Emperor pay for all they've done to the people who live under this Empire, correct?", Minazuki asks with a slight glare aimed at their Boss.

She nods her head yes and he unzips his bag. " _Is he reaching for his Imperial Arm?_ ", Leone thinks to herself before he pulls out Ferima, the poison Imperial Arm from that bandit chief from yesterday, and shows it to them.

"This is a Gas Spraying Imperial Arm named Ferima. I retrieved it from a bandit chief not too long ago.", he explains as he tosses it to the Boss.

She catches it with her mechanical arm and says, "I haven't even heard of this Imperial Arm before. This will go into our records then and we'll send it back to the Revolutionary Army as soon as possible."

He pulls out Quake and puts them on before saying, "I didn't notice them before, but these wires...they're slowly surrounding me. If you intend to kill me, you should do it now." The wires suddenly tense up, trying to cut him, but he weaves through them as they come. He senses the user around the corner and with a quick stomp he sends a column out of the wall to push them into sight.

He sees a boy with short green hair wearing a green jacket with goggles on top of his head, red gloves with metal claws with wire feeding through their tips, a white shirt with a cat on the front, black skin tight pants, and simple looking shoes. Minazuki is suddenly right in front of the boy before any of the others can say anything, with his fist an inch away from the boy's face. "Man, I couldn't even get the drop on him. I guess he really did take you three down, didn't he?", the boy notes with a nervous smile as he looks up at Minazuki.

"That's another one of our members. His name is Lubbock.", Bulat explains as he tries to get between Lubbock and Minazuki.

"N-Najenda, this guy's pretty tough. You aren't gonna even ask where he's from or anything?", Lubbock nervously asks as he turns to the Boss.

She shakes her head no and says, "If he's strong and willing to work with us, I don't see the harm in adding another member to our group. We can always use more members, especially Imperial Arms users." She then turns her attention to the column hanging out of the wall before saying, "Don't forget to clean up your messes, Minazuki."

He glances over at it and with a swift flick of his wrist, it goes back in the wall. "Okay, now I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this...", Mine notes with a reluctant look on her face.

"Why's that?", Sheele asks as she glances over at the short girl.

"Well, it's possible that his Imperial Arm lets him sense things through the ground using vibrations. And since the entire hideout is made of stone, that counts too.", Mine begins to explain.

"So, he can probably see everything going on in the hideout!?", Lubbock frantically asks as he finishes Mine's thought.

"It's possible that it goes even further than that. It might even be able to reach all the way outside too.", Akame suggest as she starts to think about it, putting a finger to her chin as she does so.

Lubbock continues to flail around in frustration and jealousy, but gets interrupted by Minazuki who says, "You could ask me about my range on that technique."

"Fine, what's your range on that earth sensing thingy.", Leone asks as she pokes his chest.

"Roughly twenty to thirty feet for a normal person, but larger bodies tend to send out stronger vibrations, so it could be even further than that if it were a large danger beast. Larger groups of people tend to have their vibrations carry further as well. That was what allowed me to sense the three of you coming before you were close enough to notice me.", he explains, seeming to disappoint Lubbock as the boy's posture falters.

"So, you can't see all the way outside?", Lubbock asks with a slight frown. Minazuki shakes his head no, causing Lubbock to let out a sigh of relief before saying, "Okay, at least you can't beat me at peeping that easily."

He's quickly hit in the head by both Najenda and Leone, as the blonde says, "You shouldn't be peeping in the first place, Lub!"

"So, what's your name again?", Lubbock asks the boy as he rubs his head in pain.

"Minazuki.", he replies as he zips up his bag.

"Minazuki? Okay, well, welcome to Night Raid, Minazuki.", Lubbock says with a slightly forced smile.

Returning to her cool and collected self, Najenda says, "Well, Minazuki, there's just one last problem we have to settle before we let you join."

"What's the problem now?", Minazuki asks as he turns to her.

"Well, when Tatsumi joined us, he took the last spare room we had left.", Najenda notes with a sigh.

"Looks like you'll be sleeping outside, new guy!", Mine happily suggests with a chuckle, grinning at Minazuki's expense.

"Well, there is another option.", Leone says with a slight grin on her face.

"We don't have enough room to add onto the hideout, if that's what you're going to suggest, Leone.", Najenda growls with a slight glare aimed at the blonde, but she quickly waves her hands dismissively.

"No, I was going to say, I'll let him sleep in my room for the time being until we figure something else out. It'd be rude for us to throw the new guy out in the cold because we're slightly overstaffed.", Leone replies with a devilish grin.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!? THAT GUY!?", Lubbock exclaims before Leone decks him in the mouth with a powerful punch to shut him up.

She then turns to Minazuki and asks, "So, whatcha say? Wanna crash in my room for a while? I have a nice comfy queen size mattress in there. Come on, I don't bite~"

"It'll do.", Minazuki replies with a slight chuckle as he throws his bag over his shoulder, carrying it with one hand as he glances over at Leone.

"Alright! Now let's get to the tour! This place might seem big on the outside, but it'll seem small once you've seen everything it has to offer.", Leone says as she takes his hand and pulls him along. She shows him around the base, showing him each room and what they're used for, before taking him back to their room.

* * *

As they arrive at a door she opens it, she says, "Welcome to our room, it's not much, but it's something, right?" As they go inside, he sees there's a decent amount of space, a chair, a bed big enough for two people, a couple of stands with candles on them, and a closet. She sits down on the bed and says, "This bed is big enough for two people, so we could easily share. The left side's mine though."

He sits down on the floor, next to the window, with his bag to his left before saying, "The floor will do just fine."

"The floor? Are you sure? This bed is pretty comfy and has room for two~", she asks as she rolls over on her back.

"I'll be fine. Now, if I'm needed, I'll be here meditating.", Minazuki bluntly replies as he closes his eyes.

He starts to meditate, but it gets disrupted when she says, "Fine, I'll be back in a few hours if a mission doesn't come up." She rolls out of the bed and lands on her feet on the side of the bed Minazuki is on. She tries to tiptoe her way over to him without being noticed, but he hears her slowly moving. He opens his eyes to see she's right in his face looking at him. "What do you look like under there?", she asks as she reaches for his mask.

He grabs her hand before she can touch the mask and says, "Nobody touches the mask."

"Oh come on, just a little peek?", she asks as she reaches for the mask again with her other hand.

He grabs her other hand with his free hand before asking, "Why are you so interested in what I look like?"

"Just...curious is all...", she replies as her face turns a little red. He lets go of her hands and she goes to the door.

Before she can open it, the door opens and they see Akame is standing there, who says, "The Boss wants to speak with you two immediately."

Minazuki sighs and gets up before saying, "We better not keep her waiting."

They rush down to the meeting room to see Najenda, who's sitting in her chair, smoking. "What is it Boss? Another mission?", Leone asks as they walk over to her.

"Yes, I'm afraid there have been reports of another serial killer on the loose, this time they're targeting random travelers on the roads in the forest at night. They've been found butchered and bled dry of all their blood. The Imperial Army isn't looking into the matter since the attacks have been far away enough from the Capital to keep the citizens ignorant.", Najenda explains after removing the cigarette from her mouth.

"And you want us to find this person and take them down, right?", Minazuki asks her, to which the woman nods.

Najenda's eye focuses on the two as she says, "It's possible this is another Imperial Arm user. Though, I haven't been able to find documentation of such a weapon, approach this target with caution." She turns to Leone and adds, "Leone, you're taking the lead on this mission. I want a full report on how well Minazuki does on a team and his abilities. If there aren't any objections, then you two should get some rest. A little rest should give you enough time to go out and hunt down this monster."

Leone and Minazuki both nod and head back to their room as Najenda dismisses them. "First day on the job and you're already getting assigned missions. The Boss is probably guessing you're full of potential like Tatsumi is.", Leone says with a slight smile.

"It's just a serial killer. It shouldn't be too hard to track them down and eliminate them.", Minazuki bluntly replies as he puts a hand over his mask.

Leone stares him down, waiting patiently for the moment he takes off the mask. Minazuki notices this as he turns to look at her and asks, "You're really that interested in what I have under this mask?"

She anxiously nods, causing him to sigh before caving in and saying, "Fine, I'll take it off. I wasn't planning on keeping this on forever." As he takes his mask off, he sees Leone's cheeks turn a bright pink and he asks, "Happy now?"

She quickly wraps her arms around his neck before saying, "Your face is so cute~ Why would you try to hide it behind a mask!?"

"It hides my identity pretty well. It's hard to tell who I am when I'm wearing a cloak and mask.", Minazuki replies as Leone continues to hug him.

"You're not going out in the Capital looking like that all the time, are you?", Leone jokingly asks with a snicker.

"Probably not, but I'll likely wear it sometimes to do recon or when we're heading out on missions.", he replies as he puts the mask back on and starts heading back to their room.

When they get back to their room, he sits back down in his spot and pulls out Shoryu's journal. He flips through the pages looking for any mention of a blood draining Imperial Arm and finds two that can drain blood. Before he can read about them, his train of thought is interrupted by Leone asking, "What's that? A book?" She walks over to him and leans over his left shoulder to try to read what's in the book, but can't seem to make out what is written. "What the hell are you reading? I can't make out a thing.", Leone notes as she leans in closer and squints trying her hardest to figure out what it says. She notices that there are pictures and asks, "Is this some sort of list of Imperial Arms?"

"It's Shoryu's journal. He left information on the Imperial Arms he encountered through his lifetime. Most of them are in here and I was trying to find something matching the kind of weapon that this serial killer might be using.", he replies as he flips through the pages, looking for any possible Imperial Arm that involves blood.

"This Shoryu guy must've been really bad at writing, because I can't read a word of this shit. Like I've seen chicken scratch, but this is at least one hundred times worse.", Leone says with a sigh as she gives up on the book.

"I can read this perfectly fine.", Minazuki notes as he turns his attention back to reading.

She gives him a confused look before laughing to herself and saying, "Nobody can read that! It's nothing more than some scratches and pictures!"

He flips to the Crosstail entry and reads it off, saying, "Crosstail: Weapon Type: Wire Type Imperial Arm. Abilities: Extremely versatile wires made from the beard hairs of one of the ancient dragons of legend. The wires are said to be nearly, if not completely, unbreakable. Their utility and usefulness know no bounds as the user can manipulate them in any way they see fit. Trump Card: The invincible wires are plenty powerful enough as is, but to think this Imperial Arm also has a trump card I haven't experienced yet is all the more interesting."

This causes her to raise an eyebrow before he flips to the Spectator entry and reads it off, saying, "Spectator: Equipment Type: Third Eye. Abilities: Spectator allows the user many additional forms of vision, along with foresight. This could come in handy if the user is well trained in combat, but in a combat sense it isn't as powerful as some of the other Imperial Arms I've seen, though it can be quite deadly in the right hands. Unfortunately its current user is just blabbering idiot that prefers to peep on women, so my hopes for seeing this one's true potential will probably never get met. Trump Card: One of the oddest things I've ever seen an Imperial Arm do is from this very Imperial Arm. It has an ability called Hallucination. It makes the victim see the one they care most for, but in reality, it's another person. If the victim isn't strong willed enough to end the life of their beloved, they will surely fall to this technique."

"So you were telling the truth then. We should probably tell the Boss about these Imperial Arms. It's possible we haven't encountered some of them yet.", Leone says, slightly impressed by his ability to read such terrible handwriting.

He shuts the book in his hand before saying, "I'll make a full transcript of them another time and get the information to her then. For now, we need to prepare for our upcoming mission and get some rest."

"Look at you, being all bossy. I guess I'll hit the hay since we have that mission coming up. Wouldn't want to go up against another Imperial Arm user half dead, right?", she replies as she heads over to her bed and lays down.

Minazuki takes off his mask and puts it in his bag along with his book before moving over to the closest corner and propping himself up to sleep. As he starts to fall asleep, he hears Leone say, "Good night, Minazuki~"

He feels a slight smirk come across his face as he hears this before replying with, "Good night, Leone."


	6. Kill the Ripper

It's late at night and Leone and Minazuki are walking the trails where the Ripper is said to strike most frequently. They're searching for any sign of them, but there doesn't seem to be any. "Man, this Ripper really takes their time. We've been out here for hours and haven't seen anything.", Leone says in a disappointed tone.

Minazuki ignores her for the moment while reading about the Imperial Arm he believes might be the one the Ripper is using: Drink Them Dry, Meno. It's a dagger Imperial Arm that has the power to drain its victims of their blood and use it as an extension of the Imperial Arm itself. There isn't much else in the journal about it and it even says that Shoryu only saw it used once by a novice who died instantly from Murasame's curse. "Other than the fact that this Imperial Arm is likely a dagger and it uses blood as a weapon, we know nothing about it. We'll have to stay on our toes at all time.", Minazuki says before turning to see Leone snacking.

She turns to see him watching her stuff her face before swallowing and saying, "Alright, on guard, right." They both sense murderous intent radiating from a nearby bush and turn to face it. " _The Ripper? Finally, it took forever but-_ ", Leone begins to think as she turns into her beast form before a giant snake lunges out from the bush, it's mouth wide open as it tries to eat Minazuki in one bite.

Minazuki doesn't even flinch as he pierces the snake's entire body with spears, stopping it just an inch before it could bite into his throat.

Leone sighs and grumbles, "Man, it was just another Danger Beast. I thought for a second that it was the Ripper finally making their move, but I'm disappointed yet again.", before releasing her beast form. Glancing over at the boy, she notices his cold eye as he looks at the serpent's corpse, and thinks to herself, " _This Minazuki guy, he didn't even release the slightest amount of murderous intent with that attack... What even is he?_ "

The earth spears suddenly retract back into the ground and a hole forms, consuming the corpse in one go. With a quick wave of his hand, Minazuki fills the hole with dirt before starting to move on, nearly leaving Leone behind. "Try not to fall too far behind.", Minazuki suggests as he walks off without her.

She rushes to catch up to him before saying, "I'm guessing you're not used to the whole teamwork thing yet, right?" He seems to ignore her and she says, "Well, most Imperial Arm users are pretty tough, so we'll need to make sure that we're somewhat in sync if we're gonna take them head on." She looks around, but can't seem to sense anyone else nearby before letting out a disappointed sigh and saying, "Maybe we should split up? We'll cover more ground that way."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Didn't the Boss tell you to observe me and gather data?", Minazuki asks her as he stops dead in his tracks, waiting for an answer.

Leone waves off his worry with a flick of her hands and replies, "Eh, I suck at doing reports and she knows it. If she really wanted to test your skill, she'd pit you against Bulat in the training yard and watch herself. And if we split up, we'll find this person twice as quick, right?"

He glances over to her when she says this before turning back to the road and saying, "Very well then, I'll head off this way. If you encounter the enemy, be sure to not get cut. Even a small cut from that blade can be your downfall." Before they can split up though, he senses something approaching from the woods. It's fast, so fast in fact that he can't see what they look like through Quake's sixth sense alone. "Somethings coming, and fast. Be on your toes!", Minazuki growls as he gets into his battle stance.

"What is it? The killer!?", Leone asks with slight excitement as she transforms into her beast mode again.

As Minazuki tries to track their movements, he notes, "It might be. They're circling us." And as he says this, a red flash goes by him. It tries to slice at him as it rushes by, but he blocks the attack with Quake. " _They're fast. Is this the power boost from the Imperial Arm?_ ", Minazuki thinks as he prepares to block any other attacks that may come. He watches the red blur rush by him again, this time they didn't attempt an attack. Leone throws a punch at the blur on pure reflex, but they just dodge under her attack, ducking under her arm as they prepare to counter attack.

"An opening~", they hear a feminine voice say as they both see the sharp, tooth like blade about to cut Leone's stomach wide open. Minazuki quickly shifts the ground under Leone's feet, moving her out of the way, while setting up a counter attack on the killer. "W-what?", the voice mutters as she sees Minazuki coming full force at her. Minazuki puts all of his might into a single attack and as his fist comes down on her, the killer blocks it with her blade and she's sent flying back with remarkable force.

The Ripper crashes through multiple trees before finally coming to a stop. After her back hits the last tree, she slides down it and lands on her hands and knees, with her Imperial Arm still in her hand. They check to see if their target is still alive and see that they're in fact, still breathing, and laughing at them. "Mister, I don't know who you are, but you're fun! More! MORE! GIVE ME MORE FUN!", the Ripper shouts as she lifts her head up and they can finally get a good look at her face.

They look to see that the Ripper, the crazed serial killer who's killed so many people, is really a little girl, about seven to eight years old. "Sorry kid, but your killing spree ends here.", Leone says as she prepares to finish the girl off.

The girl just starts laughing uncontrollably before saying, "You won't stop my fun! Nobody will! I'll keep slashing and cutting just like he tells me to, right, Meno?"

The girl begins to be enveloped by an ominous aura as she slashes at Leone. Leone manages to dodge her attack, but only by a hair. " _This isn't right. Something's, off._ ", Minazuki begins to think as he sees that the source of the murderous intent coming from the girl's body isn't her at all, rather, it's the blade. "Meno, it's the source?", Minazuki mumbles to himself before the girl tries to slash at Leone again, this time nicking her arm.

As a bit of blood drips from her wound, the girl gets an evil smile across her face before saying, "It's all over for you kitty! Your blood is all mine! I'm gonna rip you apart and play with your organs." " _I'll use my Trump Card now and tear that pussy cat to pieces, then I'll slice that strong guy up real good. That's what you want me to do, right, Meno?_ ", she thinks to herself with a crazed look in her eye as she tightens her grip with both hands on her weapon's handle and the blade itself starts to glow with an ominous black aura.

Minazuki sees this as his only opening and as she's about to use her Trump Card to rip Leone to pieces, he punches the girl full force right in her small hands. Every bone in them shatter almost instantly from the sheer force of the impact before the after effects suddenly kick in and her fingers are sent flying through the air, causing blood to spray out from her wounds.

The girl falls to a knee as she screams out in pain as she looks down at her broken hands with tears rolling down her cheeks, before glaring daggers at Minazuki and shouting, "You meanie! I'll kill you for this! Meno, where are you!?" The girl finds Meno sitting next to her with its blade stuck in the dirt before using her mouth to wield the Imperial Arm. The girl returns to her feet and tries to rush Minazuki with the weapon's ominous glow engulfing her completely, causing her skin and eyes to turn a dark black color, matching the overwhelming aura that's coating her body.

The girl goes to cut Minazuki down, but with a quick motion of his arm, spears jet out from the ground and run the poor girl through her chest and piercing her heart. As her heart stops beating and Meno falls from her gaped mouth, the aura enveloping her body fades away, leaving her skin and eyes as dark as the endless void. The spears seem to hold up the girl's light-weight body without any serious strain as Minazuki lowers his arms to his sides, his eyes focused on the remains.

* * *

With that, the Ripper is dead, though her Imperial Arm still remains. "Well that was anti-climactic.", Leone notes as a short sigh leaves her lips. She glances over to Minazuki to see him covering his mask with one hand before quickly releasing the girls body from the spears with a flick of his wrist.

Minazuki looks down at the girl's lifeless corpse then to his open palm as he thinks, " _W-what did I-I just..! I just meant to stop her! I didn't mean to- She was just a little girl!_ ", but before he can finish his thought, he hears a familiar voice whisper in the back of his mind, " _See? We aren't that different after all, right?_ ", as a sharp chill runs down his spine. His eyes shoot open as he thinks, " _E-Esdeath!?_ "

Lost in this sudden realization, he can barely make out the sound of someone calling out, "Minazuki..?" He turns to see Leone as she turns back into her human form and raises an eyebrow.

"Are you alright? You didn't over do it, did you?", Leone asks as she looks at him like a wounded soldier.

The boy lets go of his mask and lowers his hands, only looks down at his gauntlet in confusion before turning to her and replying, "Yeah, I'm alright... I'm alright."

Leone spares him a worried look before turning her attention to their next problem, the Imperial Arm. Meno is laying on the ground in front of the young Ripper's corpse. She goes to pick up the Imperial Arm, but Minazuki stops her by grabbing her hand and saying, "Wait, look at the blade."

"The blade? What about-", she begins to say before seeing the murderous intent coming from the blade itself. "W-what the Hell? Why is there murderous intent coming off that Imperial Arm?", Leone asks her eyes widen and she backs away from the weapon.

"It's possible this Imperial Arm drove her crazy. It's completely radiating with murderous intent.", Minazuki explains as he moves towards the helpless blade.

"What are you talking about? Imperial Arms are just weapons and armor. There's no way that could happen.", Leone retorts as she waves off his claim.

Minazuki shoots her a quick glare before noting, "Except that in her last moments, she called out to her Imperial Arm. As if it would respond to her. Either she was crazier than we anticipated or she somehow was able to communicate with her Imperial Arm." Minazuki looks back to Meno, murderous intent continues to pour from the blade as if it were a wild Danger Beast backed into a corner. "Don't forget, the Imperial Arms might be tools, but they were made from living breathing beings. It's entirely possible some parts of them could still be alive in there somewhere, sealed away by powerful magic to keep their powers locked inside. It's said that some Imperial Arms, like the Incursio armor, are still alive due to the unique characteristics of the Danger Beasts used to create them.", Minazuki continues to explain as he looks down at the blade.

Leone nods in agreement and asks, "So, what do we do with it then?"

Minazuki looks to Quake and Lionelle before turning back to Meno and saying, "We have no other choice, we have to destroy this Imperial Arm." "I'll be quick about it. I'll shatter it to pieces with one strong punch.", Minazuki says as he pulls his fist back, only for Leone to grab it, trying to stop him.

"Wait a minute! You do realize that this Imperial Arm could help aid the Revolutionary Army, right? And you're willing to destroy it on just a hunch?", Leone scolds the boy as she holds his fist back.

Minazuki looks back to her and says, "This weapon has corrupting characteristics. It's only safe that we destroy it now before it ends up morphing some other innocent soul into another Ripper. This kind of monstrosity would only be a problem on the battle field." He looks back to the weapon, its murderous intent increasing as they talk about its destruction. "It must be destroyed, before anyone else falls victim to what this girl did.", Minazuki growls as he clenches his fist.

Leone lets go of his fist and without another word Minazuki unleashes a strong punch onto the blade, causing the whole weapon to shatter into fragments. The murderous intent dissipates as the Imperial Arm fall apart into pieces and the sphere containing a mysterious liquid busts, letting the liquid seep out and into the ground. "Now, to disperse the fragments.", Minazuki mutters under his breath as he picks up the many pieces of now broken weapon. With a quick stomp, a tiny hole forms in the ground and Minazuki drops one of the fragments of Meno's blade inside.

"What are you doing now?", Leone asks as she watches him do this.

Minazuki fills the hole back up with dirt and answers her question by saying, "Even after being broken, Imperial Arms will try to reforge themselves. That's how Incursio can fix a dent in the armor or how Murasame can be chipped and regenerate that chunk later. It takes a while, but if given enough time, an Imperial Arm could even come back from this state.", as he glances over his shoulder at her.

"And you learned this all from Shoryu's journal?", Leone questions with a raised eyebrow as they start making their way back to Night Raid's base.

"Exactly. He found out a lot about Imperial Arms before he died. He even debunked the myth about how two Imperial Arms users who fight at full force will always result in one or both of them dying.", Minazuki says as they continue to walk together. Every mile or so, Minazuki tosses another piece of Meno into a freshly dug hole before covering it and leaving it behind.

Leone lets out a slight chuckle before asking, "And how exactly did he figure that one out? Did he test it himself?"

Minazuki shakes his head no and replies with, "No, he was the one who spread the rumor. In order to keep the Imperial Arms users from trying to fight one another all the time, he made up a tale about the Imperial Arms being made in such a way that they'd die if they tried to fight seriously with another Imperial Arms user. The Emperor even backed him up on this lie to keep them all in check."

"Pfft, he sounds like the Boss. If the mask's anything to go by, he might've looked a bit like her too~", Leone snickers as they continue on their path home.

"Let's just get back to base and report in. The boss is probably going to want an explanation as to why I destroyed this Imperial Arm.", Minazuki says, changing the topic. Leone just gives him a slight grin before putting her hands on the back of her head and looking up to the sky with a smile.

* * *

After Minazuki and Leone return home from their mission, they find Najenda waiting for them. "There you two are. I was worried that you two might've gotten killed. So, what of the Ripper?", Najenda says with her cold eye focused on the two of them as she takes a drag from her cigarette.

"They've been dealt with.", Minazuki bluntly replies as they approach their Boss.

"And, what of their weapon? Was it an Imperial Arm?", Najenda asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"It was a Dagger type Imperial Arm; Drink Them Dry, Meno. According to what information we've gathered, it was a dagger that was able to drain the victim's blood and use it as a weapon or a boost for the user's physical abilities. Just like the user, it's been dealt with.", Minazuki answers, causing Najenda's cold glance to focus on him.

"Dealt with?", Najenda asks with a slight glare aimed at the boy as she takes the cigarette from her mouth with her metallic hand. "What happened to the Imperial Arm? You retrieved it, correct?", Najenda growls as she leans forward in her seat.

"The Imperial Arm showed traits that no other Imperial Arm has ever shown, at least that I've been able to observe. It started to corrupt its user and warped their mind.", Minazuki explains to her, but Najenda only gives him an skeptical glare.

Najenda shifts her gaze over to Leone and asks the blonde, "Warping the user's mind? Leone, is what he's saying true? What did this Imperial Arm do to the Ripper?"

"The user was a nine year old girl, but she fought as if she was an experienced fighter. She managed to get the drop on both of us and even nicked me in the process. I think...Minazuki made the right call here.", Leone replies as she nervously rubs her arm.

"So, it gave her experience beyond her years, what else did it do?", Najenda asks them as she shoots a stern glare at both of them.

Minazuki is quick to answer and tells her, "She also threatened to rip Leone apart and play with her organs. Not to mention the murderous intent that the girl gave off wasn't her own."

"Her murderous intent? Then where was it coming from?", Najenda asks as she sits back in her seat, baffled by this claim.

"Meno, the blade itself was the source of the murderous intent.", Minazuki answers, causing a shocked look to come across Najenda's face.

"Even after the girl was dead, the blade still radiated a huge amount of murderous intent, as if it were-", Leone begins to explain before Najenda says, "Still alive."

Najenda looks up with a slightly tired look before turning to Minazuki and asking, "So, where's it now?"

"When I destroyed it, it shattered into pieces and I buried them underground on the way here. Each shard buried miles upon miles apart from each other to keep it from having any chance of reforging itself.", the boy answers as he looks to her from behind his mask.

Najenda lets out a defeated sigh and says, "Well, I guess it's for the best then. We can't have someone getting brainwashed by their Imperial Arm and going on a killing spree in one of the Revolution's base camps. Good job you two. Here's your payments for a job well done. I expect a full report on Minazuki's actions during the mission in the morning, but for now, go wash up and head to bed. I believe the boys are in the bath right now, so I'd suggest you wait for them to finish before going in this time, Leone.", as she tosses each of them a small bag full of coins.

Leone happily catches hers before nuzzling her face against the sack of gold coins while Minazuki lazily catches his with one hand. "Ah, I wouldn't worry too much about him. He did pretty well under all the pressure, managed to anticipated and counter the enemy's movements perfectly, and he even managed to make the call to destroy the Imperial Arm all on his own. I'd say he's perfect for this line of work.", Leone explains to Najenda as she continues to comfort herself with her shiny new friends.

A slight smile comes across Najenda's face as she stands up from her chair and says, "Well that's a relief at least. We'll be sure to put him to good use then."

Leone playfully ruffles the boy's hair as she says, "See? The Boss is pretty cool, huh?"

" _To think that an Imperial Arm could do such a thing to its user. I need to make sure the Revolutionary Army's notified of this incident at once._ ", Najenda thinks to herself as she throws her jacket over her shoulders and turning to head up to her room. As she walks away from them, she smiles internally and thinks, " _I haven't seen Leone this happy with anyone but Tatsumi. Those two just met the other day and they're already getting along quite nicely._ " A light bulb goes off in her mind, causing her to stop everything she's doing and turn back to them. "Since you two did pretty well on your mission together, I'm officially making you two partners."

"Partners?", Minazuki asks as he glances over to Leone as the blonde smiles happily at him.

"Yes, Night Raid works on a system of multiple teams that have different characteristics based on who is paired with who. We try to use the people best suited for the job each time and who works best together. Leone tends to work by herself, but it seems like she's taken a liking to you. Most of the time, you'll be doing assassination jobs and reconnaissance together. Nothing too major. We'll pair you up with some other members, but since Leone's finally taken a real liking to someone as a partner, it seems likely that you'll be stuck with her.", Najenda answers him before turning away again and waving them off. "I'm off to bed. Don't forget to wash up before heading to bed. Wouldn't want to stink up the place.", Najenda jokingly suggests as she heads up to her room.

"Well, that's your first mission! How do ya feel, partner?", Leone enthusiastically asks her new part as she looks to him with a wide grin.

Minazuki removes his mask with one hand and says, "It wasn't too hard. Though it did take longer than I originally planned to find the target." He turns the mask over to see the front has a small splatter of the Ripper's blood staining it.

Leone watches helplessly as Minazuki tries to hide his frown by putting back on his mask, but as he goes to walk away Leone grabs him by his shoulder. "Hey, are you alright? You seem a bit out of it.", Leone asks him as she gives the boy a concerned glance, but he brushes her off.

"I'm fine. I just need to get a bath. I'll see you later.", Minazuki quickly replies before heading outside, leaving Leone confused and alone.

* * *

As Minazuki walks out into the open air, wearing only the towel around his waist, he can feel the warmth radiating from the nearby hotspring as the sounds of what might be two people talking reach his ears along with wet footsteps. He goes around the nearby rock, leading straight to the hotspring, before running into a wall. "Hey, Minazuki, we were just going back inside. How'd the mission go? I'm guessing you dealt with the Ripper guy, right?", the wall happily asks, and when Minazuki looks up, he sees it's Bulat with Tatsumi to his right.

"Yeah, we completed the mission, but we didn't bring their Imperial Arm back with us.", Minazuki replies with a slight frown as he walks around Bulat and Tatsumi.

Bulat and Tatsumi look to each other with raised eyebrows before Tatsumi mentions, "You know, bringing back the Imperial Arms is only a secondary objective. As long as you did your job and came back alive, you did a great job. That's one of the first things I learned from Akame when I joined."

"Spoken like a real man, Tatsumi, I couldn't agree more.", Bulat adds with a slight smile aimed at Minazuki, but it instantly fades when Minazuki waves them off.

"Thanks for all the support, but I'm fine. You should go inside if you don't want to catch a cold.", Minazuki scolds the two as he walks off towards the waters, to which Tatsumi shrugs and does as he's told.

Bulat lets out a heavy sigh at this as he says, "Maybe I'll join you then? We could...get to know each other."

Minazuki glances back at the man and with a tired look on his face, he says, "I think I just need a moment to myself, Bulat. Thanks for the offer, though."

"I don't think you're getting what he's trying to offer, Minazuki.", Tatsumi mutters under his breath before Bulat covers the boy's mouth.

"Nonsense! We'll be going now, so take your time, okay?", Bulat replies to Minazuki before leaving with his hand still over Tatsumi's mouth.

With the others gone, Minazuki finally has the bath all to himself. As he enters the waters, the warm liquid slowly soothes his aches and pains all over his body. He lets out a pain-filled groan as he stretches his arms out, laying them down along the wall of the hotspring as he leans against its wall. "Ah, this place isn't too bad. I never got to use a place like this back at home.", Minazuki quips as he relaxes in the water, closing his eyes to enjoy the warm feeling around his body.

As he says this, the faces of the people he left behind flash through his mind. "Can't seem to get their little faces out of your head now, can you?", a familiar voice calls out to him, causing a chill to run up his spine. He quickly turns his head his eyes shoot open to see Esdeath standing near the edge of the spring as she looks down at him with a cold glance.

"What are y-", he mutters under his breath as he starts frantically backing away from her, but she stops him by freezing the water and locking Minazuki in place from the middle of his chest down.

"You can't hide what you are, Minazuki. You're a monster, just like me, killing without any thought. It's a part of you.", the woman mocks as she walks across the frozen spring. Esdeath makes her way over to him, continuing to look down at Minazuki with her cold eyes, as she growls, "You should just give in and accept it, Minazuki. To kill without any remorse, any hesitation, it's in our blood. It's who we are, why should we deny it?"

"I'm nothing like you! I'm doing what's right! I'm doing what needs to be done!", Minazuki growls back at the ice queen, causing her to glare down at him.

"Is that so? Why don't you ask your friends back in that village? Why don't you ask those bandits you killed in their sleep? How about the families of the countless soldiers you've killed for your village? Or perhaps that little girl you murdered so casually? I'm certain they'd all call you a hero, no?", Esdeath mocks as she places her heel on his head. Esdeath smiles down at him with a sly grin and says, "Admit it, you're just like me, a killer.", causing Minazuki's eyes to widen as he looks up at her.

As she sees his rage filled glare shatter into despair and loathing, she turns away from him with a smile before saying, "You know it in your heart that I'm right. You should just accept it. You're a killer, a murderer, A MONSTER! We both are." With Minazuki's will broken, Esdeath walks off into the nearby forest, leaving Minazuki to his thoughts.

"No...She's...she's wrong... I'm..I'm the hero... I'm doing what's right...", Minazuki mutters to himself as he watches Esdeath leave. " _No, she's right. I'm a killer..._ ", he mentally admits as he thinks about what he's done. " _I've killed so many people, and for what? Tapu village is gone, so I'm no hero. I couldn't save anyone. I killed them all... I'm...I'm a monster._ ", he continues to think as the people who he killed start calling out to him. As they get louder and louder, he grasps his head in pain while they demand he pay for what he did to them. Tightening his grasp like a vise, he begs them, muttering, "Please, make it stop! I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice!" He shuts his eyes, waiting for the pain to end, and it suddenly stops as a rush of water comes over his head.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me. Helloooo?", a familiar voice calls out to him, and when he opens his eyes he sees Leone standing behind him with an empty wooden wash pan in her hand and only a white towel covering her naked body. He blinks a few times in confusion as she growls, "There you are. You were zoning out again, I was teasing you about joining you in the bath and you weren't saying anything."

"I'm...I'm sorry. I was just thinking.", he apologizes as he seems to look down at the water with a troubled glance, causing the girl to give him a worried glance.

Leone lets out a loud sigh before telling him, "Fine then, I guess I'll have to do it after all." To Minazuki's surprise, she goes around the spring and when she's finally standing across from his position, she gets in and sits down. She lets out a relieved moan as she says, "Ah, now that's the stuff~"

Minazuki only raises an eyebrow at this before asking her, "What are you doing?"

Leone only giggles at this before answering, "Isn't it obvious? We're taking a bath together. If we're going to be partners through this mess, we're gonna have to trust each other. And what better way than to let loose and let everything out? I know, I'm a genius." The blonde gives him a cheeky grin, but Minazuki doesn't seem amused with his troubled expression still plastered on his face. " _Man, he's really out of it today. Maybe he just needs someone to talk to?_ ", Leone thinks as she tries to find some way to break the metaphorical ice between them. Almost as if a light bulb finally goes off in her head, an idea flashes into her mind and she suggest, "Hey, why don't we talk about ourselves? Really get to know one another."

Minazuki shoots her a tired glare, to which she only chuckles, and as a groan leaves his lips, he asks, "What do you want to know?"

Putting her chin in her palm as she leans against the wall next to her, Leone grins and asks, "How about where you're from for starters? And no bullshiting me like last time, okay?"

"Fine, I guess I can tell you, but there isn't much to tell. I grew up in a small, quiet village, one of the lucky few to have a fair amount of distance between itself and the Capital. It wasn't known for much other than having some decent fish to catch and an old shrine.", Minazuki answers honestly, causing the blonde to look at him with a slightly skeptical glance.

"Doesn't sound like too bad of a place to grow up, so why'd ya leave?", Leone questions the boy with one of her eyebrows arced in confusion.

Minazuki stumbles a bit as he tries find his words, saying, "It.. I...I..", before looking down at his own reflection in the water. As he sees his own defeated expression, he explains, "For years the Empire hounded our little village for the ridiculous taxes they wanted us to pay, and when we revolted it didn't end well. In the end, my village ended up buried under a mountain side. I lost...everything."

Leone can hear the despair in his voice as he recalls the tragic event and chooses not to go any further, saying, "Well, what about your Imperial Arm? Where'd you get it from? The Revolutionary Army doesn't have any information on it, so it has to be a really rare one."

"Quake? It was a gift from the village elder. It was hidden inside the shrine I told you about, behind a giant dragon's skull.", Minazuki answers as he looks up at Leone with a cold glance.

Leone lets out a slight chuckle before happily noting, "Hey, that's kinda like how I got my Imperial Arm. I got mine from the black market as a gift."

Unsurprisingly, Minazuki isn't believing any of that and gives her a slight scowl as he asks, "You got an Imperial Arm for free at the black market?"

The blonde mockingly waves him as she replies with, "Yep, they didn't know how to use it, so they thought it was just some dumb belt and let me have it. Joke's on them I guess.", as she lets out a slight laugh, causing Minazuki to let out a chuckle in response. Even though she can tell she's lightened up the mood a bit, Leone can still see something troubling her new partner. "So, what's eating at ya?", Leone boldly asks as her usual relaxed tone fades into a more serious, concerned one.

"It's nothing. You don't need to worry yourself over me. I'll be fine.", Minazuki quickly replies, trying to dismiss her worry, but she continues to focus on him with a concerned stare. He notices the look she's giving him and changes the subject by somewhat awkwardly asking, "Well I spilled my beans, what's your story?"

"Well, it's nothing fancy, honestly. I grew up in the slums as a kid. I lost my parents to the Empire's corrupt politicians, they took them and used them for their inhuman hunting games. After that, I was alone. I fought every day to survive. When I got older, I saw some aristocrats playing a game of trample: a sick, twisted game where they trample a few slums kids to death with their horses. That really pissed me off, so I killed them. And after that, I was scouted by the Revolutionary Army.", Leone explains, shutting her eyes as she recalls the tale. She lets out a slight chuckle before noting, "I don't think I'd change anything though. I ended up here, doing something good to help people and I'm having fun doing it."

"You...don't regret anything you've done?", Minazuki asks as his eyebrows perk up at her confident smile.

Leone gives him a stern nod before answering, "Not a thing. Everything I've done has either been for survival or under the Boss' orders. I won't say what I've done is 'right', but what's done is done. I can't change that now. I personally prefer to live in the present."

"But you kill people for a living, how can you just be okay with that?", the boy desperately asks her, yearning for an answer, but Leone just replies with a heavy sigh.

"Because it was the right thing to do. I know not every person I've killed was entirely evil, there might've been some good in them somewhere, but that still doesn't matter.", Leone vaguely explains as she leans against the wall with her hands behind her head, looking up at the stars with a blank expression.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Minazuki growls, "It doesn't matter? We're killing people! We're cutting them out of this world, and you're just okay with that?"

Leone baffles the boy by giving him a stern nod and saying, "Yep, if it means the Revolution gets that much closer to their goal, I'll keep killing the scum of the Empire. Somebody has to be the janitors to clean up these shit stains in all this, might as well be us. It's the only way anyone of us will get to live happily after this war is over."

This seems to calm Minazuki down as he leans back against the wall, letting out a reluctant sigh before moaning, "I guess you're right, I just wish we didn't have to."

"What? You're not up for the killing part of the gig? You didn't seem to have any trouble earlier.", Leone asks with a slightly confused glance aimed at the boy.

"I didn't want this. I just wanted to grow up and live a normal life. I don't want to be...this...a killer.", Minazuki argues as he looks at himself, looking down at his hands in disgust.

"You think that I wanted to be like this? That I didn't have better plans for my life than killing people for cash? Whether we like it or not, this is our job now. If we don't do this, every innocent person in the Capital is going to suffer for it and it'll be our fault. It's the only way anyone gets a happy ending at the end of this. Everything's riding on our shoulders, and we damned well can't let anyone down.", Leone passionately fires back as she sits up, a hint of rage in her voice as she glares at the boy. Minazuki goes to say something, to fight her on this point she chose so passionately, but stops himself before accepting his loss, leaning against the wall in defeat.

There's a short moment of silence between the two before Leone sheepishly says, "Hey, Minazuki." He turns to her as she looks up to the night's sky, trying to keep from making eye contact, as she says, "If it means anything, I'm glad you're here. And...thanks...you know, for saving me back there against that Ripper girl. I owe ya one."

Minazuki lets out a heavy sigh and replies with, "No matter how much I dislike doing this, we're partners now and we have to protect one another, so don't worry about it. But do try to be a little less reckless next time, I can't block every attack that comes at you."

She's a bit irritated by his response and growls back, "Ya could've just said 'thanks' or 'no problem.' Ya didn't have to scold me over just a scratch, jeez."


	7. The Second Coming

It's early the next morning when Minazuki wakes, his back propped up against the wall as the sun shines in through the window above him. He opens his eyes to see the beams shooting onto the floor before turning and seeing Leone sleeping in her bed, cuddling with one of her many pillows. As he pushes himself up off of the ground, he rubs the back of his head and thinks, " _Well, I guess I should head downstairs and see what's on the agenda for today._ "

Minazuki makes his way downstairs, leaving his mask and Quake behind to see what the others are up to. He makes his way through the hideout before reaching the training yard, where he sees Tatsumi and Akame sparring.

Minazuki watches on from the sidelines as Tatsumi lets out a furious battle cry and charges head first at the assassin with his wooden sword ready to attack. Akame, however, waits patiently for him to approach, an emotionless stare focused on the boy as he rushes at her. When Tatsumi gets close enough, he violently slashes and stabs at her with the speed of a Danger Beast, but Akame manages to parry every strike.

She keeps this up until an opening shows itself, at which she uses her wooden blade to land her counter attack: a powerful strike to Tatsumi's side. This sends the young brunette skipping across the ground before coming to a skidding stop as he grips his ribs with one hand and desperately tightens his grip on his weapon with the other.

Tatsumi looks up at Akame with burning determination in his eyes. He forces his body back on its feet and growls, "Again! I want to go again!", as he wipes the dirt from his cheek.

"You've lost five times now, isn't it about time you take a break?", Akame asks the beaten and bruised boy with a cold look.

Tatsumi scoffs at the idea and lifts his wooden sword before growling, "Why would I need a break? I don't have time for breaks. I need to get stronger so I can help protect everyone! I'm not losing anyone else like I did Sayo and Ieyasu! Now come at me AGAIN!" Tatsumi foolishly rushes toward the young assassin again, ready to start another round, but Minazuki quickly moves in to intercept him.

Minazuki's sees Bulat has done the same thing and thinks, " _Him too? I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to teach the boy something._ " With only a couple punches thrown, Minazuki quickly disarms Tatsumi as Bulat punches him in the face, sending the young boy flying back on his ass.

"Minazuki? Bro? What are you-", Tatsumi begins to ask before he's cut off by Minazuki putting the blade to Tatsumi's neck and scolds him by saying, "You should always stay aware of your surroundings. Treat even simple sparring sessions like a real battle, otherwise they're meaningless."

"You never know when an enemy will attack or where they'll attack from, so you should always be on your guard in a real fight, Tatsumi.", Bulat adds as he crosses his arms and looks down at Tatsumi with a slight glare. Tatsumi pulls himself off the ground once more with his determination still burning in his eyes, and both Bulat and Minazuki notice. "What's with you? You seem more determined than usual, Tatsumi.", Bulat notes as his brow ruffles in confusion.

Tatsumi wipes the blood from his lip and answers, saying, "I have to hurry and get stronger. I made a promise to Akame, that I wouldn't make her worry about me in battle and that I'd always come back alive. And to do that, I have to get stronger! I will survive, no matter what!"

As she hears this, Akame's face turns a bright pink as a smile comes across it. "You sure have grown! You're talking like a real man now!", Bulat praises him with a pat on the back. "How about this, you, me and Minazuki here all go and hangout? We can go into the mountains and train, like men! What do ya say? Interested?", Bulat suggests as he looks to the boy with a grin and a thumb up.

"Bro, that'd be awesome!", Tatsumi exclaims with a fascinated look on his face.

"Come on Minazuki, Tatsumi! We're heading to the mountains to the north east! We'll hunt various danger beasts like real men! Let's go!", Bulat shouts as he grabs his spear from the nearby weapon rack.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you, Bro!", Tatsumi shouts as he follows close behind Bulat.

Bulat turns his attention over to Minazuki, who doesn't seem nearly as enthused as Tatsumi, and asks, "You're coming, right Minazuki?", as he gives the boy a cheeky smile, hoping to win him over with his dashing good looks.

Minazuki lets out a long yawn as he scratches the back of his head, still waking up from his slumber, before answering with, "Let me grab my things. I'll be down in a moment."

With that, Minazuki goes back upstairs to to retrieve his things and when he sneaks back into Leone's room, he sees her snooping through his bag. The blonde is completely unaware of his presence, stuck in full investigator mode as she searches through every nook and cranny of his bag.

Minazuki clears his throat with a loud cough, causing Leone to jump up and exclaim, "I wasn't doing anything, I swear!"

Minazuki lets out a sigh before walks over to the girl and grabbing his bag, pulling out his mask and Quake as he says, "I don't care if you rummage through my things, just make sure you put everything back where it belongs, understood?"

Leone, however, nervously laughs this off before thinking, " _At least he's not mad about it. I just wanted to see if he had any booze in there._ " As the boy goes to zip up his bag, Leone see a bottle inside and quickly swipes the container from it while asking, "Oh, what's this~" It's a glass bottle with a cork keeping it shut, but there isn't a label saying what it is.

Minazuki snags it from her hands and pops it open with his thumb. As soon as the cork comes off, the scent of strong liquor fills the room. He points the top of the bottle at her and says, "It's probably the strongest alcohol you'll ever have in your life. It's strong enough to put a man twice the size of the Prime Minister on his ass with just a sip." The blonde starts reaching out for the bottle as her mouth waters at the mere scent of the liquor, but Minazuki just takes it away, corking the bottle back up and shoving it back inside his bag before saying, "I'm saving it for when this is all over. That way I can forget all this and pretend it never happened."

As he zips up the bag, Minazuki tells Leone, "I'm heading out with Bulat and Tatsumi. I don't know when we'll be back, so let the boss know that we'll be somewhere in the north east mountains training."

Minazuki walks over to the door and as he pulls down his dark brown jacket, Leone lets out a slight sigh and says, "That smelled really good too. Can I just have a little sip?"

Minazuki shoots her a glare before growling, "Just leave it be. When this war is over, maybe I'll let you have some.", as he puts on jacket.

When Minazuki leaves the room, Leone goes to snag the drink, but decides against it, thinking, " _If he wants to save that for later, then it probably means an whole lot to him. I'll just follow my instincts and keep my hands off it, for now at least._ "

Minazuki finally makes his way back downstairs and outside through the front door before meeting up with Tatsumi and Bulat, who've already packed their large backpacks as the two lift their bags onto their respective backs. They both notice Minazuki doesn't have any equipment with him and Bulat raises an eyebrow at this before asking, "Where's your backpack, Minazuki? Aren't you bring some supplies for the hunt?"

"All I need is my Imperial Arm. Anything else would just slow me down.", Minazuki replies coldly as he starts heading for the north eastern mountains.

Bulat just shrugs at this and says, "Alright, but don't ask us for food if you get hungry."

"I'll be fine. You said we were heading to the North East, right? So, Fake Mountain?", Minazuki says as he points off toward Fake Mountain, the mountain area to the north east of the base.

Bulat nods and Tatsumi asks, "Fake Mountain? What's that?", as he looks to Bulat for answers, a confused yet curious expression looking up at the man.

"That's a mountain area full of vicious danger beasts. You should keep your eyes open for anything that looks remotely like an enemy there.", Minazuki bluntly explains before he starts heading toward Fake Mountain.

"It'll be great for teaching you to keep aware of your surroundings.", Bulat adds as he shoots a smile down at the young prodigy.

Tatsumi's eyes fill with excitement as he hears this and he shouts out, "Alright! Let's do this!"

* * *

The group of assassins trek all the way through the nearby forest and up the side of a mountain before reaching the area known as Fake Mountain. When they finally reach the treacherous area, they see there's a thick fog that surrounds the area, making it hard to see where you're going along with many trees and rocks in the general area.

"Alright, we've finally made it. Now stay on your guard, you never know where they'll attack from.", Minazuki suggests as he leads the way along the path, a rocky road that winds around the mountain.

"They? What do you mean by that?", Tatsumi asks before the weight of his backpack suddenly disappears. They hear all of his stuff hit the stone path and as he turns, he sees a giant Danger Beast in the form of a tree standing there with one giant eye staring down at him. "W-what the hell-", Tatsumi screams out before Minazuki spears the thing through with multiple stone spears from the mountainside.

"That's a Tree Beast. They're all over this place. Stay on your toes or you're dead.", Minazuki explains to the boy without even turning around, as he points behind them with his thumb. Bulat and Tatsumi turn back to see that they're being followed by Danger Beasts that look like trees and rocks with eyes.

"This place is filled with Danger Beasts that are experts at camouflage. Hunting these creatures will surely increase your awareness at least a little. You're still fired up about living no matter what, right Tatsumi?", Bulat says to the boy with a grin as he glances down at him.

Tatsumi draws his sword and shouts, "Yeah!", as he gives his big bro a quick nod.

"Well, then we'll take the edible parts back to the nearby village. That way we're also doing a good deed! Give it your all, don't hold anything back!", Bulat shouts as he twirls his spear between his fingers.

"You two really like getting fired up over nothing, don't you?", Minazuki groans as he stops and turns around to help them fight the danger beasts. "I guess it can't be helped. If the villagers need these resources, who am I to stand idly by and refuse to act?", Minazuki adds as he prepares to fight.

"That's the spirit, Minazuki! Let's do this!", Bulat shouts passionately. A sudden blush comes across his face before he turns to Tatsumi and says, "And if you or Minazuki happen to get injured, I'll be sure to nurse you two back to health back at the base."

With a slightly flushed face, Tatsumi's voice cracks as he shouts, "Why are you blushing while saying this, Bro!?"

"Focus on the fight.", Minazuki growls before rushing into the crowd of danger beasts and starting to slaughter them three to four at a time.

"Hey! Save some for the rest of us! Come on Tatsumi!", Bulat exclaims as he and Tatsumi both rush in to get their fill of the fight.

The three battle throughout all of Fake Mountain, killing Danger Beast after Danger Beast, until Tatsumi's and Bulat's bags can't hold anymore materials. Once they clean the danger beast blood off their weapons and armor they head to the nearby village, where the villagers are beyond happy to receive the free materials. One of the women in the village even asks Minazuki to bless her baby, who's still in her womb, with great fortune and health. Minazuki does as he's asked with an ancient ritual that Izunaga taught him and Bulat and Tatsumi are astonished at the sight.

On their way back to the base, Tatsumi looks to the 'monk' and notes, "I didn't know you could give blessings, Minazuki."

"Of course I can, I'm a monk after all.", Minazuki replies as he turns to Tatsumi, who's walking along his left side.

"I thought you were faking all that, but it seemed pretty real. To think that you're actually a monk.", Bulat says as he looks over to Minazuki with a slight grin.

Tatsumi gives Bulat a quick nod before suggesting, "Let's hurry back to the base. The boss is probably wondering where we ran off to.", to which they all agree and pick up the pace as they continue their walk back to the base.

* * *

When they get back to the base and head inside, they see Leone standing there waiting for them. "Hey Leone, what are you doing waiting here? I thought you would've been out drinking away your last pay right about now.", Bulat notes as he looks to the blonde with a slight smile, waving to her as he does so.

"Can't, the boss said she wants to have a meeting with us in a bit. You should probably go put away your bags and wash up. The boss won't be too happy if you guys show up smelling like BO.", Leone replies as she waves her hand to save herself from Tatsumi's and Bulat's terrible scents.

Tatsumi and Bulat both lift their arms before smelling themselves and gagging. "Alright Tatsumi! Time to hit the shower! We need to do this quick and clean, got it!?", Bulat exclaims as he looks to his little buddy.

Tatsumi gives him a quick nod before shouting, "I'm right behind you, Bro!"

A smile comes across Bulat's face as he adds, "Great, and since you did so well today, I'll even wash your back for you! Now let's get going! Don't want to keep the Boss waiting on us!", as he pats Tatsumi's back.

The two head off to the bath to get cleaned up and Minazuki starts to walk off towards the meeting room, but before Minazuki can leave, Leone asks him, "Hey, have you eaten anything since you've gotten here?" He stops dead in his tracks and doesn't reply before trying to walk away again, but she grabs him by his jacket and growls, "Akame said you didn't have breakfast this morning and Sheele didn't see you anywhere near the kitchen before you left."

"I'll be fine.", Minazuki replies with cold sigh, but Leone isn't buying it.

"Listen, you might think you're all tough shit, but you still have to eat, okay? Now come with me to the kitchen and we'll get you something to eat.", Leone scolds the boy, slightly concerned for Minazuki's health as she tries to pull him by his jacket. Leone accidentally pulls too hard on his jacket, however, and he slips out of it to avoid having to go with her.

To her surprise, the jacket is beyond heavy and she struggles to hold it up. "This thing has to at least weigh a couple hundred pounds! What the hell are you walking around with this thing for!?", Leone frantically asks as she nearly drops his jacket.

"It's nothing. Now, can I have it back now?", Minazuki asks as he holds his hand out, waiting to get his jacket back.

A sly smirk comes across Leone's face before suggesting, "Sure, you can have it back, but you have to come to the kitchen and have lunch with me~"

"I'm not even hungry! I just need to get back to-", he begins to argue before she cuts him off by asking, "Back to training? If you keep pushing your body with things like this jacket and not eating, you're gonna die from either mal nourishment or being too weak to fight an enemy. Just come get something to eat already, okay?"

Defeated and unable to find any way to win against her, Minazuki lets out a heavy sigh before saying, "Fine, you always have to have it your way after all."

A smirk comes across the blonde's face before she cheerfully replies with, "Of course I do. Now come on, I'll throw something together real quick for ya." Leone pulls Minazuki along by his wrist into the kitchen, dragging the heavy coat behind her as she does so. When they get into the kitchen, Leone throws the heavy jacket over the back of one of the chairs before raiding the cabinets for ingredients.

As Leone starts making a few sandwiches, Minazuki asks, "Why are you so worried about me anyways? I told you I'm fine, didn't I?"

"Because it seems like you're not too worried about your life if I had to take a guess. You rush headfirst into the enemy lines and take a huge risk for a massive reward. That sound about right? That kind of stuff will get you killed in this line of work, and we need all the people we can get right now, so try not to die so quickly.", Leone explains with a slight growl as she makes their sandwiches. When the blonde finishes making the sandwiches, she slides his plate across the table to him with a glass of water before saying, "Go ahead, eat up! And if you don't eat every last bite, I'll force feed you the leftovers."

Minazuki sighs once more at this before reluctantly removing his mask and starting to eat the sandwiches she made for him. Seeing this, Leone digs into her meal as well, but she's eating a lot faster than Minazuki is. By the time Minazuki finishes with one of his sandwiches and half his glass of water, Leone's already eaten both of her sandwiches and drank an entire jug of ale.

"You. Take. So. Long. To. Eaaaaaaat.", Leone groans, slightly bored by how slow he's eating. With nothing better to do, Leone decides to take this time to snoop and starts looking through his jacket to see what makes it so heavy. Tapping her knuckles against the sleeves and chest area, Leone looks for any form of armor or inconsistency in the jacket, but finds none. She feels the texture of the jacket and can tell it isn't some sort of steel thread or fabric. Leone moves on to looking through the pocket, but finds nothing in them but lint.

Minazuki notices Leone's snooping and takes a moment to ask her, "Do you want me to tell you why it's so heavy or are you just going to keep on struggling to figure it out?"

With a slightly defeated expression, Leone admits defeat before saying, "Yeah, I guess that'd be easier."

Minazuki finishes his glass of water before sitting the glass down and saying, "It's filled with sand. That's what makes it so heavy."

"Sand? Why would you weigh your jacket down with sand?", Leone asks with a confused glance.

"It's not to weigh it down, though it makes it perfect for on the fly training. It's actually for extra security.", Minazuki answers, only leaving the girl with more questions.

"Extra security?", Leone asks with an even more confused look.

Minazuki finishes the last of his sandwiches before wiping his face with a napkin and saying, "Quake can only manipulate the earth that it's been in contact with. If I were to be in the middle of a jump or thrown off a mountain side, I would be helpless. That's where the sand come in. With that, I can still attack even from the air."

"Oh, so that way you can't be caught off guard, even in the air? That's pretty smart.", Leone notes as she seems to understand what he means.

"Basically. We shouldn't keep the boss waiting.", Minazuki replies as he grabs his jacket with ease and throws it on before starting to put on his mask again as he heads toward the meeting room.

* * *

Leone follows behind him and when they get there, they see the boss is already waiting for everyone to arrive and they're the first to do so. "Hey Boss, what's up?", Leone asks with her usual smile and wave.

"I'm waiting for everyone. Once we're all here, I'll be giving a debrief of the recent events and our next missions.", Najenda replies with a sigh. A few moments later, everyone arrived in the meeting room and Najenda was ready to give her speech. "Alright, now that everyone's arrived, I have three announcements to make, so listen up.", Najenda says as she sits up in her chair. "First, I can no longer get in contact with the local team.", she says causing a bit of silence to go through the air.

"Local Team?", Tatsumi asks with a confused look on his face.

Akame looks to him and says, "The Empire is large, we specialize in assassinations in the capital, but there is another team that handles the areas outside of our reach."

"The Revolutionary Army is still investigating what has happened, but the likelihood that they're all dead is pretty high, so be prepared for that.", Najenda says with a saddened tone as she closes her eye and seems to be lost in thought for a second.

Lubbock looks at his strings and says, "For the time being, I think it might be smart to strengthen our security around the hideout. I'll increase the range of my threads."

Najenda opens her eye with a cold glance and adds, "Second, Esdeath has finished subjugating the North and has returned to the Capital."

"That was faster than anticipated. Who would've thought she could've done such a thing in just a short period of time.", Akame notes with a concerned look on her face.

"She really is troublesome, isn't she?", Sheele adds with a sigh.

"She seems to have left part of her army behind in the North to keep watch.", Najenda comments as she turns to Bulat.

"Then it's safe to say that she wasn't suddenly called back home to crush the Revolutionary Army, right?", Bulat asks, but Najenda doesn't seem to have an answer.

Lighting herself a cigarette, Najenda takes a deep drag from it before saying, "I can't figure out what her next move will be, but it seems for the moment that she's throwing herself into her work at the government torture facilities." She then turns to Leone and Minazuki and says, "Leone. Minazuki. I want you two to go to the Capital and observe her movements. Use your Imperial Arms' enhanced senses to track her and keep your distance from her at all costs."

"Roger!", Leone says with a smile as Minazuki just nods. A grin comes across Leone's face as she says, "I've always wanted to know what type of person she is."

Minazuki looks over to her and says, "She's a blood thirsty monster with a blood lust like no other. You shouldn't think so lightly of her."

Najenda raises a finger to say something but stops after hearing what Minazuki just said. Squinting at him, Najenda asks the boy, "How do you know about Esdeath, Minazuki?"

Minazuki glances to Najenda and answers her, saying, "I happened to run into her on my way through the forest the night I helped Sheele and Mine. She even gave me a job offer after I beat down one of her soldiers for trying to attack me."

"So you knew about her movements?", Najenda asks with a slight glare.

"I knew she was heading to a small village named Tapu Village and that it's been completely destroyed. But that's all I know about that...", Minazuki replies coldly.

Najenda sighs at this and says, "Knowing Esdeath, she probably butchered the poor villagers or had her soldiers ravage the women in front of the men before executing them all." Najenda quickly recovers her train of thought and says, "You two are to under no circumstances to confront Esdeath, understood?"

"Alright, alright, we get it! Just watch, don't touch.", Leone says as she tries to wave off the Boss' worry. Minazuki glances over to Leone to see an evil smile forming across her face as she thinks, " _But if the chance comes up, I'll take her out. The Sadist General known as one of the strongest in the Imperial Army, killing her would be a giant blow to the Empire's moral and save us all kinds of trouble._ "

"And finally, there's a serial Killer targeting civil officials in the Capital. The victims so far have been four officials, and sixty one body guards.", Najenda adds before reaching into her pocket. She pulls out a poster with Night Raid's symbol on it and says, "The problem is, these posters claiming to be from Night Raid have been found at all the murders."

"They're framing us? It's easy to see they're fakes, right...?", Bulat asks as he squints at the poster.

"But, isn't that obvious? I mean, what kind of assassin group would we be to suddenly start taking responsibility for our kills?", Tatsumi asks as he turns to Bulat.

"That's what I thought for the first couple of cases too, but now, it seems it could have been us...", Najenda replies reluctantly as she looks to the poster.

"Huh? How?", Tatsumi asks her with a confused glance.

"After each attack, the officials increased their security and their number of guards. But even after that, they all were killed. In the fourth killing, the former Prime Minister Chouri and around thirty highly skilled guards were all killed, as well as his daughter, who was a disciple of the Imperial Fist Temple's Master. It's popular opinion that no other group could have accomplished such a thing.", Najenda explains, causing the boy to nod in response.

"So they have power on our level, so that means that they're likely to also be Imperial Arm Users.", Minazuki suggests and the others seem to agree.

"That'd make sense. Imperial Arms are known for being extremely powerful.", Akame adds as they continue to theorize what they might be up against.

"All of those who were murdered were innocent people who wanted nothing to do with the Prime Minister or the war. They were people who made him feel ill at ease. If I had to guess, the Prime Minister is getting rid of the few enemies he has left while having us take the blame for it all.", Najenda explains as she blows out a puff of smoke.

"I feel like there's more to this, like this is some sort of invitation to lure us out and trap the real Night Raid members.", Bulat says with a concerned look.

"It's possible that this is also a trap, yes. But I wanted to inform you anyway. The people killed were all highly skilled and opposed the Prime Minister. They wanted nothing to do with the Revolutionary Army and cared only for their country. Good people like them will be essential in creating our new country. We cannot afford to lose any more of these talented people! I feel we should find and crush these fakes once and for all! I would like to hear your opinions on this!", Najenda says in a full motivational speech.

Tatsumi is the first one to speak up as he clutches his fist, he says, "I...don't really understand things like politics, but... Using our name to commit these horrible crimes makes me sick!"

Everyone is left surprised by his reaction and Bulat suddenly gets a grin across his face before saying, "That's right... Exactly Tatsumi! Spoken like a true MAN!"

Najenda looks around the room and everyone nods, agreeing with what Tatsumi had to say. A smile comes across Najenda's face as she stands up from her chair, with her coat draped over her shoulders and she says, "Okay... We're decided then! What shall we do with these fools who selfishly decide to use our name!? Let's go teach them the law of the assassin!" As she clutches her metal fist, Najenda says, "There are roughly five officials who we suspect are being targeted by the Prime Minister. Only two have plans to leave the Capital soon. We'll be sending two teams of two! Team one will be Akame and Lubbock while Team two will be Tatsumi and Bulat!"

"Where do these officials plan to go anyways?", Tatsumi asks the Boss as he looks up at her.

"The outskirts of the Capital. One will be heading to villages in need, trying to help the poor and starving people there while the other is planning on going on boarding the ship anchored at the start of the Grand Canal, the massive luxury liner: Ryuusen! That one will be your target to protect, Tatsumi and Bulat. Good luck.", Najenda replies to inspire her team.

"Then we should all be heading out. Time is of the essence.", Akame says as she grabs Lubbock and drags him with her as she rushes outside.

"H-hey! Don't just drag me!", Lubbock shouts as he struggles the whole way.

"You ready for your first spy gig, partner?", Leone asks Minazuki as she looks down at him with a grin.

"It shouldn't be too hard. We just have to keep our distance and track her movements.", Minazuki replies as he heads for the door.

"Oh come on, at least try to act excited!", Leone shouts as she rushes to follow after him.

With the remaining members of her team of assassins going out on their missions, Najenda sits back in her chair, thinking, " _I wish I could send more of them, but with both Sheele and Mine still healing from their injuries, I can't afford to send anyone else... Everyone...please, come back safely._ "


	8. The Ice Queen

When Leone and Minazuki reach the Capital, they decide to wait near the palace entrance to see if Esdeath will come out. Minazuki waits on the street level with his mask and cloak on while Leone takes to the rooftops and watches from above.

Esdeath eventually comes out of the palace, alone and unguarded, before starting to walk around like a normal civilian. The General walks through the streets, heading to Main Street as the assassins follow at a safe distance. Much to their surprise, the ice cold General known for her cruel and relentless war efforts starts waving happily to civilians, smelling roses, petting dogs and cats, before stopping at a cafe named: Confectionary Cafe.

They watch on as she seems to greet the owner, who's clearly nervous and offers her a small bribe of gold coins to appease her. With Minazuki in a nearby alley and Leone hiding on the adjacent rooftops, they're both confused by her slightly confused expression when she picks up one of the coins he hands her. The General quickly follows this up with shoving the two coins into the owner's eye sockets and shouts at him about bribes and punishment as he screams out in pain.

She then sits down on the bench outside the cafe and seems to order something with a slight smile on her face as she waves him off like a servant. With murderous intent radiating from her body like a Danger Beast, Esdeath looks around with an evil smile on her face, seemingly waiting for something as the owner leaves to make her order.

Sensing this, Minazuki's eyes widen in disbelief at the raw amount of energy the woman is putting off, thinking, " _So this is the power of one of the Three Elemental Generals..._ " The boy's train of thought quickly derails when he senses Leone's presence. " _This is bad, if this keeps up, we'll be found out for sure. I need to do something..._ ", Minazuki begins to think before the boy gets an idea. With a quick adjustment of his mask, he mutters to himself, "We're both monsters after all...", before stepping out from the shadows and starting to make his way over to the ice cold General.

With her eyes widening, Leone sees Minazuki as he makes his way towards their target and she thinks, " _What's he doing!? Is he trying to get himself killed!? Like she'd think twice about killing some stranger in a mask walking up to her in a cloak like that!_ "

"Greetings, General.", the boy calls out to the General with a slight wave as he masks his aura and murderous intent perfectly from her.

Esdeath turns to him with a confused expression for a moment before remembering his mask, which causes her to smile and say, "Ah, you're that monk from before! Have you finally come to your senses and decided to come serve me?"

"Actually, I saw your face in the crowd and thought there might be trouble, so I decided to follow you. I thought you might've been on serious 'General business' but I never expected someone of your stature to stop for ice cream of all things.", the monk replies with a positive tone as one would expect from a normal monk.

"I'm just on a stroll, no need to worry.", the woman replies with a smile, waving off his worry with a wave of her hand. Esdeath turns her attention back to the rooftop where Leone is hiding with a cold, calculated glare focused on the blonde's position, and Minazuki says, "I'm afraid I must apologize for my friend's behavior. She's... a bit worried about me. She believes I'm unaware of the dangers in this city."

"Ah, so that's your companion then up there?", Esdeath asks with a hint of surprise on her tongue, glancing over to the monk for confirmation.

Minazuki nods in response and continues, saying, "She worries about me too much.", as the owner returns with an ice cream cone for Esdeath, gently handing it to her so he wouldn't mess up and drop it on her lap.

Esdeath's murderous intent seems to diminish to a more less intimidating level after hearing the monk say that, then her attention turns to the owner. With a cold glare, Esdeath stops him by raising only a finger and orders, "One for my acquaintance here too."

The owner nervously nods in quick succession before saying, "As you wish, General Esdeath.", and heading back into the cafe.

"You're treating me to ice cream? Maybe I should join your team. What were they called again?", Minazuki happily replies with a slight chuckle as he turns to her.

"They're known as the Three Beasts, but I'm putting together a special task force of capable warriors, most of which also have Imperial Arms. You, my Three Beasts and few other capable warriors, and myself would be this new special taskforce.", the General replies as she gives the monk a slight smile.

"Imperial Arm? You mean those weapons that the First Emperor made long ago, right?", Minazuki says, trying to play dumb.

Esdeath nods and sadistically replies with, "They posses extraordinary powers. With them, we can easily crush our enemies!" With that said, Esdeath starts to enjoy her ice cream and after a few bites, she looks down at the dessert with a slightly baffled expression. "This, it's pretty good...", the woman notes as she continues to lick her ice cream.

The owner returns once more with another cone for Minazuki. As he hands Minazuki the cone, Esdeath watches him patiently to see what he'll do. Minazuki chuckles to himself before saying, "Ah, I see, you wanted to see under my mask.", and pointing to the mask.

Esdeath lets out a single chuckle before saying, "You figured out my plan so quickly. So, what will you do?"

Minazuki slightly adjusts his mask, only revealing his mouth before saying, "It might be silly looking, but this is how the monks eat with their masks still on. Don't worry, you can laugh if you want."

Esdeath lets out a slight giggle before saying, "That is definitely a unique way to approach this issue." As the two enjoy their ice cream, Esdeath suddenly stops and asks, "Monk, may I ask you a question?"

"I don't see why not.", the boy replies with a slight smile as he turns to the General to give her his full attention.

"Through your time as a monk, how much have you learned about...love?", the woman asks him somewhat sheepishly.

"Love? Well, it's a very complicated emotion, but the other monks did teach me a fair amount. What did you need to know about it?", Minazuki answers her, trying to leave a bit of room to work with as she continues to question him.

"Well, I've recently been feeling as if I need something to fill this void. I've been throwing myself at my work in the torture chambers, but still, it's there and I feel...hollow. As if, somethings missing in my life...", Esdeath continues with a hint of sorrow near the end as she looks down at her half melted ice cream.

He lets out a slight chuckle and says, "So, you've been bitten by the love bug, huh? Well, I'll give you the best advice I can, General." "You might think that you have high standards, like perhaps you only want a strong, tall man with a certain attitude or someone with a high intellect and a mouth that showers you in sweet words, but none of that will really matter in the end. None of it ever does. The only thing that matters is what your heart tells you.", the monk explains as he glances over at her.

"What my heart tells me? That doesn't make any sense.", the General coldly replies, shooting down his advice in an instant.

Minazuki looks to her with a slight smile and replies with, "You did say you were new to this, did you not? So it only makes sense that it doesn't make sense, understand?"

Esdeath shakes her head no and says, "You lost me there."

The monk lets out a sigh and says, "Think about it this way: You can't know what you don't know."

"I can't know what I don't know?", the sadist asks with a confused look aimed at the monk.

Minazuki responds by pointing up at the sun and asking, "If you had to guess, how far away is the Sun?"

"The sun? Pretty far, I guess, what does that have to do with love?", Esdeath replies, slightly more confused than before by his questioning.

"The point of the question was that you couldn't even start to comprehend how far away the Sun might be from us. It's an unknown that probably nobody will ever be able to truly figure out. You can't know what you don't know.", the monk wisely replies before going back to his ice cream.

"Okay, so trust in my heart, even though I may not understand what that means, and I'll find the one I love, understood. What do you suggest after I find this person?", Esdeath continues, questioning him further.

"Love can be ruined by selfishness, greed and lust. Try to remove those things from your mind and your love life will start to flourish.", the monk vaguely adds, causing Esdeath to raise an eyebrow at him oncemore.

"What the hell does that even mean!? Now you have me even more confused!", Esdeath frantically shouts in her confusion.

"Simply put, don't cheat on the one you love, don't value something more than them, and most of all: always value their needs above your own, no matter the cost. That is what the Grand Master taught me, and the advice I give to you, General Esdeath.", Minazuki replies as he counts them off on his fingers.

"Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place? That was so much easier to understand.", the cold General replies as she returns to licking her ice cream.

"Sayings are meant to be vague so they force you to think about the world and life. That is their true purpose, while their meanings are just after effects.", Minazuki answers her as he finishes his ice cream. The boy stands up from the bench as he fixes his mask before saying, "It's been pleasant speaking with you again General, but I'm afraid I'll have to reject your offer once again. I am a man of peace and would like no part in this war. Though, if you happen to need anymore love advice, I would be more than happy to assist in that matter."

As the monk gives her a respectful bow, Esdeath chuckles to herself before saying, "You know, under normal circumstances, I'd kill you for rejecting my offer so many times, but since you gave me some meaningful advice, I guess I can spare you this time. Farewell, Monk."

"Same to you, General.", the monk replies as he waves back to her while taking his leave.

As he walks off, Leone follows after him from the rooftops and Esdeath thinks to herself, " _I guess she was following him then. Then Night Raid still hasn't shown their face to me, what a shame. I was looking forward to testing out a new method of torture too. Well, the day is still young, come, Night Raid!_ "

* * *

" _So that's the Capital's Ice General, one of the strongest in the Empire. After all the stories I've heard about her, to think she'd stop for ice cream and wave to random strangers on the streets, I'd think they were completely different people if I didn't see it for myself._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he escapes Esdeath once again to return to the shadows.

When he turns a corner into a dark alley, he's met by Leone who slaps him upside his head and whispers, "What the hell were you thinking back there!? You almost got yourself killed!"

"She only knew me as a monk, and I used that to my advantage. I even got some important details about the group I believe is behind these murders.", Minazuki answers the blonde with a slight glare. With a chill shooting up his spine, Minazuki suddenly senses Esdeath walking their way and says, "She's coming! Did she see me walk down this way!? I could've swore I was beyond her range of sight!" The boy quickly changes out of his cloak and mask before hiding them in his duffel bag, which he stored behind some trash cans in the alley.

As the General continues to get closer, Leone smells Esdeath's murderous intent and quickly shifts out of Beast Mode before saying, "We need to think up something, fast!"

Minazuki uses Quake's sixth sense to look for any nearby underground sewer lines, but can't find any nearby and he only shakes his head as he mutters, "There aren't any tunnels nearby. We need to think of something else."

As Esdeath's about to turn to look down the alley, Leone quickly grabs Minazuki's face and kisses him.

As they kiss, Esdeath looks down the alley, looking for the 'Monk,' but only sees two lovebirds kissing. She puts her hand over her chest and gets a sad look on her face while thinking, " _I want that, a lover to hold close and kiss passionately like that. Monk, I'm putting all my faith in your words._ " The sadist continues on her way through the Capital and Minazuki and Leone continue to kiss until they're certain that Esdeath is far and gone.

Once she's certain they're safe, Leone lets go of Minazuki, who gasps for air and asks, "What was that for!?"

"She was clearly looking for you, right? Well, a monk wouldn't just kiss some girl in an alley, right?", Leone confidently replies as she shoots a wink at the boy.

Minazuki quickly reaches into his bag and grabs his mask from his bag as he says, "Don't do things so suddenly like that. At least give me some sort of warning next time."

The boy turns away from her for a moment to put on his mask, but before he can, Leone taps his shoulder and says, "Hey." And as he turns around to ask what she wanted, she kisses him again without any warning.

As the blonde pulls away from him, he's even more flustered than last time and asks, "Again, really!?"

The blonde just laughs at his flushed expression and says, "I finally did it! I found your weakness!"

"It's not funny!", the boy growls with a his face goes from a light pink to red from the embarrassment.

"Aww, but you look so cute when you're flustered like this~", Leone replies mockingly as she hugs him, enveloping his head in her cleavage. She eventually stops teasing him and let him go before saying, "We should probably report back to the Boss, she's probably worried sick about us."

He puts his mask back on and replies with, "Let's just hope we're not too late and the others haven't had to face the Three Beasts yet."

* * *

When the two assassins return to the base, they see the Boss sitting in her chair patiently waiting for everyone to return. "Leone! Minazuki! What information did you bring!?", Najenda asks, happy to see them returning alive.

"Minazuki almost got himself killed, but he got information straight from Esdeath about a group called the Three Beasts. They're probably the ones who've been killing all these officials.", Leone informs her in a more serious tone than usual.

"You...talked...to Esdeath?", Najenda asks as her eye seems to twitch.

Minazuki gives the boss a quick nod before telling her, "She only knew me as a monk, so I took advantage of the situation and it payed off." As the two assassins get closer to Najenda, Minazuki continues to explain as he says, "She told me that the Three Beasts were her personal servants and that they're also Imperial Arm users. It's likely that she trained them herself on top of whatever experience they already had that impressed her to the point to letting them serve her. So it's likely that these guys are all on our level if not stronger. She's also planning on throwing together a special task force of Imperial Arms users, to what their objectives may be, I wasn't told."

Najenda sighs and says, "Well, that's vital information. Thank you for the report."

Minazuki holds up a finger and adds, "There's one more thing.", to which the two women look to him in confusion.

"What didn't you tell me?", Leone asks as she seems to squint at him with a suspicious glare.

"Apparently Esdeath is looking for a lover.", Minazuki says and both Najenda's and Leone's jaws drop open.

"A-A lover!?", Najenda exclaims and Minazuki just nods in response.

"THE Esdeath!?", the Boss asks, slightly more confused, but Minazuki nods again.

Leone just busts out laughing and Najenda starts to mentally break down. "T-this can't be happening... It's impossible...", Najenda says to herself as she holds her head in her hands.

"What's wrong Boss? You seem more concerned about this than you really should be.", Minazuki says with a slightly concerned tone as Najenda seems to mentally fall apart at the seams.

"It was a long time ago, one of the Generals I worked with in the Imperial Army made a bet that every other General in our group would get married before I ever did, Esdeath was in that same group of Generals. The other Generals all got married and had kids, but it has always been the two of us that never had the time to date...", Najenda replies in a slightly disappointed tone as she recalls the event. She suddenly snaps out of her funk, realizing she's right in front of her subordinates and says, "That doesn't matter now! What else do you have to relay, Minazuki!?"

"I gave her some love advice that I learned from my training as a monk. Would you like to hear that?", the boy asks which causes Najenda's face to turn a bit pink.

"M-maybe in private, later, but for now, this is good enough, thank you for your efforts on this mission.", Najenda replies as she hangs her head in shame. The boss tosses some small bags full of coins to the two assassins and says, "Your payment, as always. Now, we just have to wait for the others to return from their missions. Hopefully they didn't run into these Three Beasts."

Suddenly, the door swings open and when they turn to see who it is, they see it's Tatsumi and he's all beaten up and bloody with a bag they don't recognize on his back. More importantly, he's using Incursio's key to prop himself up, like it's a walking stick. "I did it, Akame... Bro...", Tatsumi barely manages to mutter before he collapses on the floor.

"Tatsumi!", they all shout as they rush over to assist him.

Minazuki puts two fingers to the boy's wrist to check for a pulse, and when he gets one, he shouts, "I have a pulse, but it's weak. What the hell happened!?", before checking the rest of Tatsumi's body for wounds. Tatsumi's body has bruises and cuts all over, but nothing too major. Through his panic, Minazuki looks over to Incursio's key, which Tatsumi has in a death grip in his right hand.

"Incursio... That means...", Leone says with a saddened look on her face. The blonde pulls her scarf slightly above her mouth, trying to hide her face at the thought of what might've happened to Bulat.

Minazuki picks Tatsumi up in his arms and growls, "We have to hurry and get him to his room to start him on some medicine. I'll take him there now. Leone, get me something to fix these cuts and bruises with."

Leone just nods before rushing off to the kitchen as Minazuki carries Tatsumi up to his room with Najenda following close behind him. The boss opens the door for Minazuki and he carries Tatsumi's almost lifeless body into his room and sets the boy in his bed. "Don't worry Tatsumi, we'll fix you up.", Minazuki says as Leone walks into the room with the first aid kit.

Minazuki takes the kit from her and rummages through it, only to find the standard medical supplies inside. Grumbling to himself in anger at the sight of the below standard supplies, Minazuki tosses them aside and rummaging through his bag. "Who buys the medical supplies, Sheele!? Those are for handling scrapes! I need stronger stuff! We need to make sure he doesn't get an infection and close these damned wounds before he bleeds out!", Minazuki shouts in frustration as he pulls out his supplies from his bag.

"Well, we never expected this would happen, so sorry if we didn't exactly stock up on needle and thread!", Leone shouts defensively.

Minazuki quickly takes a rag from his bag and pours rubbing alcohol on it before muttering to himself, "Sorry Tatsumi, but this'll sting a bit." He applies the rags to the boy's wounds and looks to Najenda before telling her, "Disinfect his wounds. I'll patch him up the gashes as you go."

The Boss gives the boy a quick nod before taking his rag and letting him move back over to his bag as she continues his work. With Najenda on disinfection, Minazuki disinfects a sewing needle and some thread with another jar of rubbing alcohol before starting to close up the the disinfected wounds, somewhat stopping the bleeding. With the major gashes dealt with, Minazuki pulls out some cream and handing it to Leone. Minazuki glances over to his partner and says, "Rub that on the bruises, it'll help numb the pain." With a nod from the blonde, the boy continues on with patching up Tatsumi's damaged body, almost like an experienced medic working double time during a war. " _Man, you're lucky I've had to patch myself up so many damned times, Tatsumi. This probably isn't as good as Lubbock's handie-work, but it's better than bleeding out._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he continues to stitch up Tatsumi's wounds.

* * *

After a few hours, they finish patching up Tatsumi as Akame and Lubbock return to the base. Najenda informs them of Tatsumi's status, and Bulat's likely death, causing Akame to rush to Tatsumi's side and Lubbock to head to his room to think about things for a while. Leone and Minazuki were there when she told them, but didn't know what to say. Sheele and Mine finally return to the base from their trip to the hotspring, only to see the looks on Leone's and Najenda's faces.

"What happened!? Is everyone alright!?", Sheele desperately asks as she rushes over to them, seeming to instantly fall into a panic as she notices their distraught expressions.

"It was Bulat, he... didn't make it.", Leone somewhat coldly explains as she pulls up her scarf above her mouth.

"Bulat, but... he's the strongest out of all of... You have to be wrong! Bulat wouldn't-", Mine begins to say before Minazuki cuts her off by saying, "Tatsumi came back alone covered in blood, gashes, and bruises...with Incursio's key in his hands. He's in pretty bad shape right now, so we're guessing that Esdeath's group of thugs; the Three Beasts, were behind all this. We'll have to wait for Tatsumi to confirm it, but we're pretty sure that since he returned alone, Bulat is gone."

With tears seeming to well up in her eyes, Sheele runs up stairs and Mine rushes after her shouting, "Sheele, wait! Sheele!"

Najenda just looks down with a cold blank stare before saying, "Bulat's death is...unfortunate...but he will be avenged. We will make the Empire pay for his death!" "There were three Imperial Arms in that bag Tatsumi had. I'd wager that they belonged to the Three Beasts. They did good to defeat such dangerous Imperial Arms. I don't remember seeing mention of this axe Imperial Arm in our notes. It must be a new one.", Najenda says, trying to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, don't you have some sort of journal with a list of Imperial Arms in it, Minazuki?", Leone asks as she turns to him, trying to take her mind off of the recent calamity.

Minazuki gives the blonde a quick nod before pulling out the journal. Najenda holds out her hand to see it and he hands it over to her, knowing she won't be able to read it. The one eyed General flips through the journal as she tries to read it, but she's disgusted by what she can only guess is terrible handwriting. "This is your handwriting, Minazuki? It's...terrible...", Najenda asks as she turns to book at every angle, trying to figure out what it says.

"No, it's Shoryu's. It was his log of Imperial Arms that he'd seen through his travels.", Minazuki explains, slightly offended by the boss' comment. Najenda hands the boy back the journal and he says, "I think it's linked to Quake somehow. I can read it clear as day, but nobody else seems to be able to read it."

"Strange, but possible. If you could, transcribe the notes in that journal and turn it into me right away. It'll help in the war if we know what exactly we'll be up against if the Empire has hidden Imperial Arms that we don't know about.", Najenda says as she heads up to her room.

Leone places a firm hand on Minazuki's shoulder and tells him, "I'm gonna check up on Akame, could you go check up on Lub? I don't want him hanging himself in his room."

Minazuki just nods, causing his partner to smile before she heads up to Tatsumi's room. The boy heads to Lubbock's room and when he opens the door, he sees Lubbock sitting on his bed. "Hey Minazuki, coming to check up on me? Did Najenda send you?", Lubbock asks in a slightly saddened tone. Minazuki just walks into the room and shuts the door. "I'm fine, don't worry. I understood from the start the possibility that we could all just die for what we do in the shadows.", Lubbock says in a slightly cold tone.

"No, you're not.", Minazuki says as he sits down on the floor.

"Yes, I am.", Lubbock refutes, seeming to snap at Minazuki as he continues to hold up his inner walls.

"You're just saying that because you think it makes you seem tough. That the fact that you're not phased by the loss of a friend, for whatever reason, makes you stronger than the average boy, but really, deep down inside, you're welling up with all kinds of emotions.", Minazuki says with a slight glance at Lubbock.

Lubbock just looks away shamefully before saying, "What do you know!?"

"You think this is the first time I've lost someone? I've lost a lot of people, Lubbock... A lot of people...", Minazuki says with nearly no emotion.

"Minazuki?", Lubbock asks with a slightly worried look.

"Keeping that bottled up will only hurt you in the end, Lubbock. It's best to let it out now, before it becomes a problem...", Minazuki suggests as he gets up to walk out of the room.

As he walks out of the room and shuts the door, Minazuki hears Lubbock start to break down into tears and slam his fist against his bed over and over again shouting, "Why? Why!? WHY!?"

Through the halls, Minazuki senses tears hitting the floor, many from different rooms. One set from Tatsumi's room and another from Sheele's room. He senses that Leone is holding Akame in her arms in Tatsumi's room the same way Mine is holding Sheele in her room.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone has begun to calm down, Leone and Minazuki meet in their room. Minazuki is already sitting in his usual spot as Leone enters the room. Thinking the boy's already asleep, she just sits on her bed for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

"Leone.", Minazuki says, spooking the blonde at first before she lets out a slight chuckle and says, "You surprised me there, partner. I thought you went to bed already. I think I'm gonna hit the hay myself. It's been a long day, you know."

"Leone.", the boy continues to call out to the girl in a sterner tone.

"Hey, come on. Don't you see I'm tired? I just want to go to bed, alright?", Leone growls as she tries to ignore the boy's pestering.

"Stop trying to hide it.", Minazuki growls back at the girl, causing the blonde to turn to away from him.

"Hide what? I'm not hiding-", Leone begins to argue before the boy gets up and pulls the scarf off from around her neck. She looks over to him with a pissed off glare before shouting, "Hey, what the hell!?"

"You shouldn't try to hide your mourning. It's disrespectful to the fallen.", Minazuki says as he tosses her tear riddled scarf to the foot of her bed and returns to his usual spot on the floor. As he goes to sit down, Minazuki hears Leone start to tear up and her breathing starts to become more erratic. The boy stops what he's doing before taking Quake and his mask off, sitting them on a shelf, and sighing.

The boy turns to see his partner sitting on the edge of the left side of her bed, crying as she tries to look to him. The blonde is holding herself in her arms, trying to stop her trembling as she growls, "I understand that we take risks with this gig... even so...THIS REALLY PISSES ME OFF!"

"Leone.", Minazuki calls out to her with a slightly worried tone before she shouts, "Don't 'Leone' me! You told me to let it all out, so I'm letting it all out! This is complete and utter bullshit! Bulat didn't deserve this!"

" _Anger is just one of the many phases of loss. She'll get past it, but perhaps I should help her._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he watches Leone continue to break down in front of him.

Leone starts punching her bed, each hit seeming to get stronger and stronger as she says, "Bullshit! Bullshit! BULLSHIT!" Pulling her fist back one more time, Leone goes to punch the bed as hard as she can, but she suddenly stops when she feels herself being wrapped in a hug. The blonde looks over to see Minazuki, who's trying his best to hold her like she did Akame; One arm is wrapped around her in a hug, while the other is placed on her head to hold it against his chest.

"It's alright. I'm here to help you...if you need it.", Minazuki whispers to her, causing her anger to melt into sorrow.

"How could he just up and die on us? He was our friend, our family! We were going to see the new world together!", Leone shouts through her tears.

"Every person has their time. We come from the earth and we return to it, that is simply the way life goes.", Minazuki says, trying to comfort her.

"But...why did he have to die!? He didn't deserve it!", the woman whimpers into his chest.

"Not all people deserve the death they're given, but it's the hand that life dealt them.", Minazuki replies as he tries to calm her down.

After hearing that, she goes silent for a moment. She then wraps her arms around him and squeezes as hard as she can, almost as if she's trying to crush him. "Leone?", the boy calmly asks, not quite phased by her strong embrace.

"Could you just...stay up here a little longer? You don't have to sleep here if you don't want to, but...", Leone says as her tears begin to dry up.

Minazuki lets out a slight sigh before telling her, "Just this once, but I'm not sleeping in this, thing."

A smile comes across the girl's face as she says, "You don't have to, I just need a moment."


	9. The Kidnapping

A week has passed since Bulat's death and some have moved past it faster than others. For the moment however, most of the team is in the training yard exercising. Tatsumi, Lubbock and Minazuki are all doing push-ups while Akame, Sheele, and Leone sit on their backs to add to the weight. Sheele is on Lubbock's back and he's completely shirtless and sweaty. Akame is on Tatsumi's back and he's in the same state as Lubbock. And Leone is on Minazuki's back, but Minazuki is also wearing his extremely heavy coat and Quake without a single sign of sweat coming from him. Even with the additional weight from the coat, Minazuki is still ahead of both Lubbock and Tatsumi in push-ups.

"Come on guys! Minazuki's leaving you all in the dust here!", Leone mocks the other boys as she pats her partner on his back.

"Are we even sure he's human!? He isn't even sweating and he has that jacket on too!", Lubbock exclaims as he struggles to lift himself and Sheele all at once.

"What kind of training did you go through to be able to do that without breaking a sweat, Minazuki?", Tatsumi asks as he manages to lift himself and Akame.

Minazuki switches to using only his left arm to lift himself while saying, "My mentor was a strong and powerful monk. He taught me all he knew and every training method he ever endured, he pushed me through. These are just the results of that training."

"Now you're doing it one handed! What even are you!?", Lubbock shouts before the weight of Sheele is too much for him to continue on and he falls on his face.

The door to the base suddenly slides open and they see Mine, dressed up in her usual pink dress, as she shouts, "Anybody here? I need someone to train with!"

The pink girl sees that everyone seems to already be training and Leone says, "Well, it seems Lub finally gave up, so Sheele should be available, right Sheele?"

"N-no I'm not! I can keep going, see!?", Lubbock proclaims as he manages to lift Sheele and himself off the ground, his arms wobbling as he barely manages to lift both himself and Sheele off the ground.

"So you've finally recovered! That's nice to see!", Sheele says with a smile as she sees her partner.

"What are you guys doing?", Mine asks with a slightly confused look aimed at the group as the boys continue on with their exercises.

"We're helping the guys out with their training. Adding a bit of additional weight for their endurance training should help increase their endurance even faster.", Leone explains as she lays down with her back against Minazuki's.

"As we all know, Imperial Arms take a lot of mental and physical energy to wield. This training will allow us to use our Imperial Arms for slightly longer.", Minazuki explains as he continues to do his push-ups much faster than Tatsumi and Lubbock.

"After equipping Incursio for the first time, I realized that was far more true than I first thought. In order for me to be able to be even half as good as Bro was, I need to train even harder. As I am right now, I can't even use its invisibility for a second before it releases.", Tatsumi notes as he forces himself to continue on, pushing both himself and Akame up faster and faster each time he lowers himself down to the ground.

Mine turns to Lubbock and asks, "What about you Lub? Isn't it a bit unusual for you to be getting this physically active?"

"Well, there's one less guy in the group now, so I got to thinking that maybe I should start pushing myself a little harder like these guys.", Lubbock replies with a slight grin on his face as he starts to match Tatsumi's push-up speed.

"That sounds cool and everything, Lub, but even if we add yours and Tatsumi's push-ups together, Minazuki's count still blow them out of the water.", Leone mocks the green haired boy even further with a slight snicker.

"I'm more impressed by how he's been able to out pace them even with the major weight differences between them. There's a large difference between Leone's weight and ours.", Akame says as she reads from a book before she's met with a punch to the head from Leone.

Through the confusion, Najenda walks into the training yard and says, "Hey, you're all here." Everyone turns to her and sees she has a giant backpack on her back.

Everyone greets her and Tatsumi asks, "What's with that getup, Boss?"

Their boss sets down the backpack and says, "I'm heading out to the Revolutionary Army HQ. I need to deliver the Imperial Arms we've been finding.", before the Axe Imperial Arm falls out of the bag.

"That one's unbelievably heavy, Boss.", Tatsumi tells the woman as he points at the axe, but Najenda disregards his warning and simply picks it up with ease as she says, "Ah, I can handle this much at least. See? I wouldn't be able to use it as a weapon, but I can at least carry it without any serious problems."

Tatsumi's amazed by her ability to lift such a heavy weapon without any visible effort and asks Lubbock, "Was the Boss always this awesome?"

Lubbock nods and says, "Isn't it obvious? She's a former General."

Najenda turns to Akame and tells the girl, "I leave the base in your hands, Akame. Standing orders are 'everyone train,' understood?"

Akame simply nods while saying, "Understood.", causing Tatsumi to shout, "Are you really leaving the whimsical one in charge!?"

"It's probably for the best. Just look at her other options.", Minazuki notes, causing Tatsumi to really think about it.

" _Sheele is a bit of a kluts, Mine's too bossy as is, Lubbock would do something perverted, with Leone in charge no work would get done, and Minazuki and I are too new to be trusted with such responsibility yet._ ", Tatsumi thinks as he looks at everyone else in the group. Tatsumi lets out a sigh and says, "I guess you're right. Akame's probably best suited for the job right now."

"Yeah, and she takes her orders pretty seriously, so there won't be any problems there.", Lubbock says with a chuckle at the thought of being in charge.

"But, really, the main reason I'm going is to see if we can get a few new members. As we are now, even if we were all to unite our power into a perfect fighting force, we wouldn't stand a chance against Esdeath for a second. We need to prepare for an encounter with her at any moment. Besides that, we lost a strong member and we'll need some extra help replacing that strength he brought to the table.", Najenda explains as she lights herself a cigarette.

Tatsumi gets a sad look on his face and says, "I'm sorry... I was, just too weak..."

Najenda looks up at him and sighs before saying, "The ones you were put up against, The Three Beasts, they had some of the strongest offensive capabilities in the entire Empire. They were some of the strongest men in Esdeath's personal army. All three of them were eliminated and on top of that, you were able to recover their Imperial Arms. Esdeath's power may have no equal, but her army has taken a major blow due to your actions, Tatsumi. This will do a lot to help the Revolution. Not only did you save all the people on that ship, but you've also save countless Revolutionary Army soldiers by eliminating such a dangerous threat. You're strong Tatsumi. You did well."

"..Boss..", Tatsumi says as tears start to well up in his eyes.

Leone sighs and says, "I wasn't going to tell you this since I didn't want to make your head any bigger, but Bulat told me something a while back. He said that he believed in you, Tatsumi. That with enough hard work and training that you might be able to one day surpass even him. He seemed to really be looking forward to it too."

"Bro...", Tatsumi mumbles to himself as tears continue to well up in his eyes.

Najenda tosses the backpack over her mechanical shoulder and says, "Be proud of yourself and live on, Tatsumi. Show Bulat that you can become the kind of man he was looking forward to watching you become."

As she walks off on her own, Tatsumi wipes away the tears forming in his eyes before looking to Minazuki and asking, "Minazuki, can you help me train?"

Minazuki turns to the young boy and says, "Of course, but it won't be easy. It'll probably be the most agonizing thing you could ever imagine."

Akame tosses Tatsumi one of the practice swords as Minazuki takes his usual fighting stance.

"You aren't going to be using a weapon?", Lubbock asks Minazuki as he prepares to take on Tatsumi.

"I don't need a weapon.", Minazuki replies as he charges at Tatsumi. Tatsumi tries to defend himself, but Minazuki just knocks the sword out of his hands and forces him into hand-to-hand combat. With each hit, Tatsumi's movements start to get slower. After three to four hits, Minazuki just walks up to Tatsumi and flicks him on the forehead, causing him to fall to his knees from fatigue.

"W-what the hell was that?", Tatsumi says as he gasps for air.

"That's the amount of agility you should have after undergoing this training I'm about to put you through. My master put me through many trials to increase my agility, endurance, strength, awareness, and many other things. I'll put you through one of these trials and see how you do.", Minazuki replies as he holds out a hand to help Tatsumi up.

"Amazing! That's about Akame's level of agility!", Sheele exclaims with a mesmerized look on her face.

"So, what do you say Tatsumi? Do you think you can handle my methods for such a reward?", Minazuki asks as he takes off his mask to be able to breath a little easier.

Tatsumi thinks for a moment about how strong Bulat was and how powerful Minazuki seems before looking up to him with determination burning in his eyes and saying, "I'll do it!"

The boy takes Minazuki's hand and Minazuki smiles before saying, "Perfect. Let's get started right away then."

The new mentor takes off his jacket and places it on Tatsumi before saying, "You'll be training with this on by the way."

"What!?", Tatsumi shouts as he's almost crushed by the unexpected weight increase.

"Trust me, it's worth it.", Minazuki says as he returns the mask to his face.

"Well, it was nice knowing you, Tatsumi.", Lubbock says as he puts his shirt on and heads back inside.

Everyone starts to leave, except for Akame who looks to Tatsumi and says, "You can do it Tatsumi, I have faith in you."

Tatsumi manages to get a stable footing with the jacket on his back before saying, "Alright, I think I've got a hang of this. Now what?"

"Good, now just walk around for a moment. Get a feel for the added weight of the world on your shoulders.", Minazuki says as he motions for Tatsumi to move around.

Tatsumi remains on guard as he starts to walk around in the jacket, still trying to get one hundred percent used to the added weight.

Minazuki reaches into the left jacket pocket and pulls out Shoryu's journal before saying, "Alright, now that you've gotten a hold of how to walk now, let's go for a bit of hand-to-hand sparring. I'll keep one hand on this book and fight you with the other. Don't forget to give it all you got." He opens the book with one hand and starts to read from it as he waits for Tatsumi to make the first move.

A grin forms across Tatsumi's face as he says, "You're underestimating me Minazuki! You shouldn't leave so many openings!" He rushes at Minazuki with all his might and throws a plethra of punches, which Minazuki easily deflects and dodges with just one hand without even looking at Tatsumi. Tatsumi goes for a leg sweep, but Minazuki jumps over it and Tatsumi at the same time, landing behind him.

Minazuki finishes reading the entry he was on and flips to the next page to see the same symbol he saw on Esdeath's chest as the picture for one of the Imperial Arms. There isn't a name for the Imperial Arm, but instead just question marks. The entry reads: " _? Blood Type Imperial Arm. Abilities: Allows the user to create and manipulate ice at will. Trump Card: Unknown. Side Notes: This Imperial Arm is one that I have not seen in action yet. I have seen the Imperial Arm, but all who try to use it end up being driven mad with its power and die within an hour of ingestion. According to the Great Emperor however, the abilities I've listed are what it is intended to allow the user to do, meaning that it's possible that it can do even more than that if the user is strong and cunning enough to find new ways to use it._ "

Minazuki continues to easily block Tatsumi's attacks as he reads on about how this Imperial Arm works and what drawbacks it may have. " _It's possible that this Imperial Arm drove her mad with its power and now, because of her strong will, she's just barely staying alive. No, I sensed her murderous intent. She isn't mad, she's just a monster, and that's probably why this Imperial Arm didn't reject her. Because their personality types matched up perfectly._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he senses an opening in Tatsumi's defenses. He throws a seemingly random punch at Tatsumi which lands perfectly in his gut, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"You shouldn't leave even the tiniest of openings, Tatsumi. They'll be your downfall.", Minazuki says as he pulls his fist back and Tatsumi drops to his knees. As Tatsumi gasps for air, Minazuki sighs and says, "You have potential, but you need to understand that fights are more than just being on the offensive."

To Minazuki's amazement, Tatsumi actually gets back up to his feet and throws another punch, which Minazuki catches. "I won't stop.", Tatsumi says as he pulls back his other hand and throws another punch, which Minazuki also catches. "I'm just getting started!", Tatsumi shouts as he pulls his head back and headbutts Minazuki with all his strength.

Minazuki staggers back thinking, " _Now wasn't that just resourceful. I guess I was the one underestimating him._ "

"If the Boss and Bro believe in me that much, then I have to live up to their expectations and get even stronger!", Tatsumi shouts as he rushes at Minazuki again, this time with more precise and agile punches.

Minazuki manages to deflect them as he's pushed back by Tatsumi's approach. "That's the spirit Tatsumi! Keep that spirit burning!", Minazuki says as he continues to deflect his attacks. As he continues to duck and weave through Tatsumi's attacks, the brawler notices something in the younger boy and contemplates, " _It's weird, it's almost like with every punch he's thrown so far, he's getting a tiny bit better. It's barely noticeable, but he's already improving... With enough time and effort he might reach my level one day. Lucky for him, we have both right now._ "

* * *

After a week of their rigorous training, Minazuki and Tatsumi, both wearing cloaks to help mask their identities and Minazuki, who's dressed as his usual monk persona, head into the Capital to Lubbock's bookstore, Booknight, and the location of Night Raid's hidden city base. Minazuki and Tatsumi enter from different sides of the city, trying to prevent anyone from suspecting they are in any form associated with one another. On his way through the city, Minazuki simply purchases medical supplies with his payments from his recent missions and delivers them to the Clinics near Lubbock's shop. Many of the nurses and even the Doctor himself thank Minazuki for his kind behavior, and they even ask him to bless their clinic, which he happily does before leaving.

When Minazuki arrives at the little bookstore, he sees Lubbock standing outside the store in a store clerk's uniform. Minazuki heads inside the store and Lubbock whispers, "What took so long?"

Minazuki glares over his shoulder at the boy and simply replies, "I was running a few errands."

Lubbock seemingly shrugs this off with little worry before leading Minazuki to a back room where there's a trap door leading to their underground hideout. "Be careful going down the steps. They're a little old.", Lubbock warns as he gestures for Minazuki to go first.

Minazuki fearlessly heads down the stairs while saying, "This is a well hidden base, I'll give you that Lubbock."

When he reaches the bottom, the strong scent of alcohol assaults his nose before hearing Leone shout, "Welcome to the secret base, partner~"

Minazuki walks into the room where he heard her voice come from and see's the blonde laying on a couch drinking booze from a glass bottle. "Aren't you a bit too relaxed? We're in enemy territory.", Minazuki says with a slight glare aimed at his partner.

"It's fine! Nobody knows our faces anyways!", Leone exclaims as she waves his idea off as nonsense.

"Yeah, neither your face, Mine's, or even Tatsumi's have been put on posters yet. It seems like you all got away scott free.", Lubbock says with a slight chuckle.

"Not even Mine's face? I would've thought that the Imperial Soldier would've at least been able to identify her the way she dresses.", Minazuki says, slightly amazed by the soldier's incompetence.

"We have more pressing issues. The special police force Esdeath is running, Jaegers, seems to be all everyone can talk about around here.", Tatsumi says with a slightly worried tone.

"Well, yeah, Esdeath is their leader, so that only makes sense that people would talk about it.", Leone says as she waves the booze bottle around, almost spilling it on herself.

"Yeah, she's a very dangerous woman.", Lubbock adds with a serious tone.

"Really, how dangerous can one woman be?", Tatsumi asks with a slightly worried tone.

"Oh yeah, you haven't heard about what she did to that south western tribe. Tell em Lub.", Leone says before burying her face in the bottle.

"Well, a few years ago, there was a group of savage tribes that rose up in the rebellion against the Empire's tyrannical rule. The Empire considered them a threat, so they dispatched 120,000 men to take on the tribes' strong 10,000 members. They thought that manpower alone would be enough to quell them, but those far off outskirts were hell to the Empire's soldiers who were raised comfortably near the Capital. Poisonous bogs, large rivers of mud, swarms of poisonous insects, disease, wild animals and exotic danger beasts all plagued the Imperial Soldiers until they'd all but given up. The ones who lived through that hell were too exhausted to even put up a fight when the tribes came during their night raids. Eventually, the Empire grew impatient and dispatched Generals Esdeath and Najenda to handle the situation personally. With Esdeath's overwhelming power from her Imperial Arm, they were easily able to crush the tribes' defenses and take over their main base, but that wasn't enough for her. She ordered her men to violate their village until they were bored and burn it to the ground when they were done. To make matters worse, she even forced some of the men to watch as their home burned to ash. And when they begged her for death, she refused and told them that she'd have mercy on them and allow them to live and that the natural order of the world is the strong killing the weak. And so, even though they had been ordered to make an example out of them, they carried out these orders with such horrendous and demonic joy!...And that's what happened.", Lubbock explains with all kinds of hand motions and his own sound effects that he makes with his mouth.

"But wasn't it foolish to plant the seeds of hatred in the ones she decided to spare?", Tatsumi asks his team-mates with a confused glance.

"Not if you want to spark another war it isn't.", Minazuki suggests as he sits down on the couch next to Leone, who's slightly buzzed and rubbing herself on him like a cat.

"Yeah, it's likely she wants to spark another revolt just so she can squash it again. Then she'd do the same to those natives and the cycle would continue.", Lubbock says with a sigh.

"Heh, I knew it was a bad idea to try to mess with her. She's seriously dangerous. I can't believe you sat down next to her, and had ice cream with her none the less, partner~.", Leone says with a slightly red face from the alcohol.

"You had ice cream with General Esdeath?", Lubbock asks in a slightly jealous tone. Minazuki simply nods and Lubbock sighs before saying, "I swear if you end up with a harem before I do, I'm gonna be so pissed with you." Lubbock suddenly remembers something and shouts, "Oh yeah, Tatsumi, you want to make some quick coin?" Tatsumi turns to him and nods before Lubbock pulls out a poster and says, "Esdeath is hosting a city wide tournament. The winner will get a huge cash reward on the spot! You did say you wanted to send money back to your hometown, didn't you?"

Tatsumi looks at the poster and happily says, "Yeah! This is just the type of thing to start helping my village! Let's go!"

* * *

After arriving at the tournament and Tatsumi signed up for the hand-to-hand combat portion, the rest of the group splits up, Minazuki sitting by himself and Leone and Lubbock sitting together. As the assassins take their seats, the tournament quickly starts.

Though there are plenty of interesting matches, Minazuki can't take his eye off Esdeath and her two Jaeger members at her sides, one male with short blonde hair and the other female with long light green hair and her face hidden behind a mask. The monk notices Esdeath glance in his direction then stop and stare for a moment before starting to talk to the blonde boy.

The green haired girl seems to ask something, but Esdeath seems to dismiss her question for whatever reason and Minazuki is certain that he sees her lips say, "You're too weak to take him on, even with Ran's help. Leave the monk be." The girl just nods to the General before returning her attention to the fights.

" _So I've been made. It's a good thing I decided against sitting next to the others then._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself before returning his attention to the fights as well. He watches round after round of men fighting one another until finally, the final round of the hand-to-hand portion of the tournament arrives and it's Tatsumi against a bull of a man named Karubi The Butcher. As the blue haired boy announces their names, Minazuki sees this Karubi guy and notices plenty of openings just in his walk. Karubi seems to be trash talking Tatsumi, but it doesn't seem to be phasing him. Suddenly the blue haired boy shouts, "Begin!", and the two competitors lung at each other.

Karubi goes for a hail mary punch right out the gate, but Tatsumi jumps over his attack and tries to counter with a diving roundhouse kick. Karubi barely manages to block the attack with his arms, which Tatsumi springboards himself off of to make space between them. Karubi starts to throw wild punches, but thanks to his training with Minazuki, Tatsumi is able to deflect all the punches before finding an opening to punch Karubi full force in the gut. As Karubi reels back in pain, Tatsumi drops down and sweeps his feet right from underneath him before delivering a strong roundhouse kick to his temple, knocking Karubi right out. As the giant's body hits the ground with a loud thud and Tatsumi sticks his landing perfectly, the crowd goes wild, cheering Tatsumi's name!

Minazuki glances over at Esdeath and sees that both her and her Jaeger members are very impressed by Tatsumi's performance.

The blue haired boy raises Tatsumi's left arm and shouts, "Tatsumi is the winner!" As soon as he does this, the crowd goes wild once more and Tatsumi's name roars through the stadium! As he hears his name being chanted by so many people, Tatsumi can't help but let out a smile.

Minazuki suddenly senses Esdeath stand up from her seat and turns to see that her face has gone pink and he can sense her heartbeat has skyrocketed. " _This can't be good, Tatsumi, get out of there!_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself.

The monk looks back to Esdeath and reads her lips saying, "I've found him. That's him." The crowd and even Tatsumi are all shocked to see Esdeath coming down to great Tatsumi in person.

After a short exchange of words, it seems like Esdeath is about to give Tatsumi his reward and send him on his merry way, but it all turns out so different. Instead of money or gems to reward Tatsumi with, she pulls out a collar connected to a chain that she attaches around his neck like he were her new pet.

Minazuki can see her lips say from the crowd, "From now on, you'll be my lover.", as Tatsumi realizes he has a collar around his neck. The sadist starts to drag him off, but when the boy starts to struggle while shouting, "Wait a minute!", she turns around and knocks him out with a swift blow to the back of the neck.

With Tatsumi unconscious, the General carries the boy away and Minazuki can see the worried looks on Leone's and Lubbock's faces. " _We have to report this to Akame! Tatsumi's just been taken as a love partner by Esdeath!_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he rushes off to head back to the base.


	10. The Infiltration

After explaining the situation to Akame and the others, Akame looks to the rest of Night Raid and slams her hands down on the kitchen table before shouting, "How could this happen!?"

Mine glances over at Lubbock and asks, "Did she realize he was a member of Night Raid?"

Minazuki shakes his head no and says, "I'm afraid it might be worse than that."

The rest of the assassins look to the boy and ask him, "Minazuki?", as their confused expressions meet his worried look.

"I might've been seeing things, but I could've swore I saw Esdeath say 'From now on, you'll be my lover' after putting the collar around Tatsumi's neck.", Minazuki explains with as he looks to them.

"I'm not sure what'd be worse, being tortured by Esdeath or being forced into being her lover.", Leone jokingly replies with a slight grin on her face.

"Are you certain?", Akame asks with a cold glare aimed at the boy.

Minazuki nods his head in response to the crimson girl and says, "That's what I saw, I'm certain."

"Then Tatsumi's not in any serious danger then, right? For the moment, he's just livin' it up in the palace with Esdeath.", Lubbock suggests with a slightly jealous look on his face.

"Actually, if Tatsumi is persistent enough, he might even be able to convince Esdeath to join our cause. That is, if she's that entranced by Tatsumi and willing to follow the advice I gave her about love.", Minazuki says as he starts to think about the possibility.

"Like that'll ever happen. In case you forgot, Esdeath is the most sadistic monster this Empire has ever produced. There's no way she'd ever join the Revolutionary Army!", Mine mockingly replies with her arms crossed.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Minazuki looks to the other members of his team and says, "Perhaps, but the possibility is there, though the chances of this actually happening are slim to none."

"So, what should we do, acting Boss?", Leone asks Akame as the blonde looks to her friend.

Akame, lost in thought, mutters Tatsumi's name to herself as she grits her teeth, trying to keep her composure.

Mine quickly brings her back to reality by bluntly saying, "Don't say something stupid like 'Let's go get him back' or something, Akame. You do realize that the palace is not only filled with soldiers, but all kinds of traps to keep assassins out, right? Breaking in there at the best of times would be basically impossible, even for us. Besides, Tatsumi's true identity may not 've been discovered in the first place."

For a moment, Akame is silent as she closes her eyes and thinks of what they should do next. "First, we should move our base further into the mountains.", Akame says as she looks down at the table.

"Good plan, this place may be discovered.", Leone replies with a nod.

"So...What about Tatsumi? I know rescuing him may be impossible, but still...", Lubbock asks with a slightly worried look before Akame lets out a sigh.

"I know that we lack the means and manpower to rush in head first after him, but still, Tatsumi is part of our family! So we will do whatever we can to bring him back alive!", Akame shouts inspirationally, trying to reach Najenda levels, but just barely missing her mark.

"You're crazy! We can't just go in and take him right from Esdeath's clutches!", Mine shouts, rejecting Akame's idea.

"Well, I might have an idea.", Minazuki says as sits down in one of the wooden chairs at the table.

"And what's that exactly?", Sheele asks as she looks to Minazuki for answers.

"Well, if Esdeath has actually taken Tatsumi as her lover, his life isn't in any real danger. Realistically speaking, he should be relatively safe as long as she doesn't know what he really does. But Esdeath now leads the newly formed task force, Jaeger. From my understanding of Esdeath's personality, she won't just abandon her responsibility to play love birds with Tatsumi. She'll likely take him along with her like a pet on their missions and training sessions.", Minazuki starts to explain as he places his hand on his chin.

"So if we just figure out where the Jaeger guys are going, we'll likely find Tatsumi there with them?", Lubbock asks with a hint of skepticism, to which Minazuki nods.

The cloaked boy looks to the rest of his team and says, "When they leave the palace, we'll have a possibility of an opening showing itself. And if Esdeath happens to leave Tatsumi alone with just one of the Jaeger members or if we're really luck just by himself, we could rescue him and bring him back to the base undetected."

"And who do you think would just be able to waltz in there and take Tatsumi exactly? It's not like he can just sneak out the window and escape or anything.", Mine refutes, but Minazuki already has an answer.

"Well, it's possible I could sneak in. Esdeath thinks she knows me and she'd likely accept another visit from me if she thought it meant she'd get a better understanding of her feelings.", Minazuki suggests as he looks to Shoryu's mask as it lays on the table in front of him.

"Are you sure? That sounds pretty dangerous.", Sheele notes with a worried look on her face.

"I'd be our best bet for infiltrating their ranks and getting Tatsumi out of there alive and undetected.", Minazuki says with a slight shrug.

"No way, that's way too dangerous! I say we follow them and wait for Tatsumi to find an opening and try to make a break for it. Tatsumi might still be a bit green, but he's smart enough to get himself out of this pinch, right Akame?", Leone says to her with a slight glare.

Akame looks up to Minazuki with a cold glance and asks him, "Do you truly think you can pull it off undetected?"

Putting on his mask, Minazuki replies with, "They won't even know what happened until it's too late and we're long gone."

"Fine, then that's our plan for getting Tatsumi back, but first we need to figure out their future movements. Leone, Minazuki, you two head back into the Capital and see what you can find out about Jaegers' upcoming missions and movements. While you're doing that, I'll watch the Northern exit from the Capital in case they leave through there. Lubbock, you'll handle the Eastern exit. Mine, the Southern exit. And Sheele the Western exit. Any questions?", Akame says before looking around the room.

"I'm still against this. Tatsumi will be fine. We just have to wait it out and he'll find some way back.", Mine says with her arms crossed.

"Let's just hope that in the meantime they don't somehow turn Tatsumi to their side and have him actually join the Empire. I'd rather not fight the Incursio armor he has, even if he's still inexperienced with it.", Minazuki says causing everyone to think about the possibility that Tatsumi might turn on them.

"Tatsumi wouldn't do that. He's a loyal member of our team. He'd never betray our trust.", Akame says as she looks back down at the table, avoiding eye contact with that said, everyone heads out on their missions, armed with their Imperial Arms and the desire to bring back their dear friend, Tatsumi.

* * *

Later that same day, a few streets down from the palace gates, Leone and Minazuki are hunting for clues as to what Jaeger might be doing on their next mission. The partners split up and look for anyone who might've heard anything that could help them and Minazuki stops when he sees a beggar. The man is sitting on tattered rug, wearing only a pair of pants, his ribs clearly visible from starvation.

Minazuki walks over to the beggar and when he looks up and sees Minazuki's mask, at first he's frightened, thinking that he's there to end his life. When Minazuki reaches out his hand to the man, the man flinches while shutting his eyes, waiting for the end. But when the end doesn't come, he opens his eyes to see Minazuki holding food out to the man.

"You seem hungry child. Would you like something to eat?", Minazuki asks the man in a kind voice.

"Y-you aren't here to kill me?", the man nervously asks as he looks at the bread that Minazuki is handing him.

"Of course not. I am but a simple monk trying to help the poor children of this world. Please, take this bread.", Minazuki replies as he places the whole loaf of bread in the mans hand and places the other on top of the loaf. "Now eat. You seem like you haven't eaten in a while child, correct?", Minazuki suggests as he sits next to the man.

The man happily starts eating the bread, small pieces at a time in order to savor every bite.

Once he's done, Minazuki hands him a jar of water and says, "Here, you could use a drink too. It's just water, but it's better than nothing."

"Who are you? A Saint?", the man asks with a slight smile aimed at the mysterious boy.

"I am but a humble monk, child. Now, go ahead and drink.", Minazuki replies kindly, touching the man's heart with his kindness. "How long do you usually sit here, child?", Minazuki asks him as he finishes the jar of water.

"Usually all day, but sometimes the guards kick me out. They say such harsh things to me. Little do they know I listen in on their conversations from the alleyways.", the man whispers with a slight snicker.

"I see, would you have happened upon any information about the Jaegers' next mission?", Minazuki whispers back to him.

"Only that they'd be leaving soon. The guards said that they wouldn't even have to throw me out today, because General Esdeath would be coming down this way and she'd just kill me without even a second thought. Some other guards also mentioned that the Jaegers were going to a fort near Gyogan Lake. They say there's a group of bandits there that need to be taken out, and General Esdeath and the rest of Jaegers are going to do it. They'll probably be moving out any minute now.", the man whispers with a smile.

"Ah, so that's how it is then? Very well, thank you for the information, child. I left you a little something in your cup.", Minazuki says as he gets up and walks away.

Confused by the monk's vague reply, the homeless man peers into his cup to see that it's half full of rare gems! His eyes widen and he thinks, " _Thank you God! Thank you kind sir!_ "

* * *

Minazuki heads to Leone's and his meetup spot and finds her waiting there. "I hope you got something, because I got squat.", Leone says to her partner as he approaches her.

"I think I have something. Apparently, the Jaeger is supposed to head to a fort near Gyogan Lake to take out a group of bandits.", Minazuki explains to his partner as he looks around the dark alley.

"Good, then let's go tell Akame and-", Leone begins to say as she starts to walk to the Northern gate before Minazuki grabs her arm and says, "The catch is that they'll be leaving any second now."

"Huh? Any second? But, we need to go inform the others, right?", Leone says as she points to the Northern gate.

"That's the thing, I need you to do that while I try to get into the group.", Minazuki says as he lets go of her arm and pats her on the back.

"What? You're crazy! You've already walked straight up to Esdeath once, you don't need to do something that dangerous again just to prove you can!", Leone snaps at the boy with an irritated glare.

"I'll be fine, trust me. It's the safest way to get Tatsumi back without having to fight anyone.", Minazuki explains as he takes off his mask and looks to his partner with a slight smile.

"You really have a death wish, don't you?", Leone says somewhat mockingly as she lays off him for a moment.

"I don't plan to die quite yet. Now go tell Akame and the others I plan to infiltrate Jaeger and bring Tatsumi back by the end of the week.", Minazuki replies before returning his mask to his face and walking back out into the streets.

"That guy is really something else, isn't he?", Leone grumbles to herself before rushing to find Akame and the others.

Waiting in the shadows, Minazuki skulks around the front of the palace until he eventually sees Esdeath with Tatsumi and a group of people, who he guesses is the Jaegers, walking toward the Western exit. The monk starts making his way to the Western exit as well, following the group but on a different street and at a slightly faster pace than them to make sure they don't think they're being followed. Once he reaches the Western gate he heads into the forest and toward the nearby fort. " _If it's such a large structure and I have a general idea where it might be, it shouldn't be too hard to find._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he adjusts his mask. " _I need to hurry. Even the shortest of seconds could be vital to Tatsumi's rescue._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he rushes to Gyogan Lake.

* * *

Once at Gyogan Lake, Minazuki searches for the nearby fort that the beggar spoke of back at the Capital. Closing his eyes, Minazuki tries to sense any movement in the general area, and thanks to his hard training, his range has grown five times its original limit. The assassin senses off in the distance a large amount of footsteps, roughly forty to fifty steps a bit to the north east. With a couple of quick jumps, Minazuki makes his way to the top of a nearby tree to see that there is a fort in that direction. The boy also sees a cliff nearby, which would be the perfect place to give orders to a General's troops.

" _If I was Esdeath, I'd either be there or in the heat of battle, and given that she has Tatsumi with her, up there is the most likely location._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself before rushing up to the top of that cliff.

As he approaches the top of the cliff, Minazuki senses two people sitting together. Continuing to get closer, the boy senses their heartbeats as they seem to get more sporadic to say the least. One is filled with fear while the other is filled with what he can only guess is love.

" _That has to be them._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he continues to mask his presence and killing intent. He continues up the path he found to see Tatsumi and Esdeath sitting on the cliff's edge together, overlooking the fort. He notices that Esdeath is holding Tatsumi's hand and Tatsumi seems to be freaking out about it.

" _Perhaps it's best if I allow my presence to be known._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he starts walking up to them.

As the monk approaches the two from behind, Esdeath doesn't even seem to notice his presence there over the warmth of Tatsumi's hand. "Are you sure it's alright if I stay up here, Miss Esdeath? I kind of feel bad that I'm the only one sitting this one out.", Tatsumi asks the woman nervously as he looks up at her.

"It's alright, and please, just call me Esdeath.", the General replies lovingly with a slightly flushed face. "You seem very kind Tatsumi. You've at least heard of me, I hope. Is the image different from what you imagined?", Esdeath asks as she turns to the young boy, but happens to see Minazuki out of the corner of her eye walking toward them. "Could it be?", she mutters to herself before standing up and shouting, "Monk! What are you doing here!?"

Tatsumi looks over to what she's looking at and sees Minazuki before thinking, " _Minazuki!? What's he doing here!? Run!_ "

"Ah, General Esdeath, I thought I sensed your presence up here. I was out looking for medicinal herbs when I sensed you all the way up here. And who is this young boy?", Minazuki replies as his usually kind monk personality.

"This is Tatsumi, my lover~", the woman replies as she points to Tatsumi with a smile as she looks to the boy with her face still a tad bit pink.

"Ah, I see, and have you taken into account the vital information that I gave to you a while back?", Minazuki says with a more serious tone.

"I believe I have, though I might need more guidance. I am still quite new to this whole being in love thing.", Esdeath replies slightly embarrassed to admit it in front of Tatsumi.

There's a sudden explosion from the fort and everyone looks to see that the front door was blown clean off by Seryu's giant gun arm: 'Number Seven: Taizan's Cannon of Justice.'

"Ah, the battle has already begun! Come and watch with me Tatsumi!", Esdeath says happily as she pulls him close, not leaving an inch between the two. Tatsumi is visibly shaking in fear as the sadist wraps her arm around him and rests her head on his shoulder.

"Tatsumi, was it?", Minazuki asks as if it were the first time they were meeting.

Tatsumi looks over his shoulder and nervously says, "T-that's me..."

"You'll be alright, trust me.", Minazuki says as he walks to his side.

" _How did he sneak up on me like that? Did I just not notice because Tatsumi was here or was he hiding his presence that well?_ ", Esdeath thinks to herself as she and Tatsumi watch the other Jaeger members fighting the bandits.

"Ah, it seems like you've recruited your team of Imperial Arms users. It's a shame what happened to those fine soldiers of yours. They would've made this great team you have here even greater.", Minazuki says as he watches the Jaegers continue to slaughter the bandits below.

"Yes, they're all quite strong. Those three would've been excellent additions to the Jaegers. But they were weak, so they died.", Esdeath says without any visible emotion.

"Weak? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I had heard that they were considered to at one point to have had some of the most powerful offensive capabilities in your ranks. I'd say they were far from weak.", Minazuki replies with a confused glance at her.

"They died, that meant that they were weak. It's as simple as that.", Esdeath coldly replies, not seeming to care for her fallen comrades.

"That's an odd way of looking at it.", Tatsumi notes with a confused look.

"Do you have this opinion of all things that die, General?", Minazuki asks the woman, causing her to glance over at him.

"Of course, it's the natural order of the world, is it not?", Esdeath replies as if they should already have known this.

Minazuki lets out a slight chuckle and says, "If that's the way you want to view the world, I guess so. But the strong aren't born strong, they're born weak. Only because those stronger than them gave them the chance to live did they eventually become strong."

Esdeath seems to think about what he just said for a moment before saying, "If I wanted your advice, Monk, I would've asked for it. Now be gone, unless you plan to join Jaeger like Tatsumi has.", before releasing a wave of murderous intent to try to intimidate Minazuki. With a grin on her face, Esdeath thinks, " _That'll show him. If he's smart he'll turn tail and run to leave me and Tatsumi alone._ "

With the one of the Empire's strongest bearing her fangs, Minazuki is left in complete terror at Esdeath's dark wave of murderous intent. " _So this is the Ice General's power! This murderous intent... It's way beyond anything I've ever seen before..!_ " Before his fear can take hold, Minazuki steadies his mind, contemplating, " _No... There's no way she'd kill me here. I'm too valuable of a resource for her to throw me away so easily. She needs me..._ " Now with his mind matching his cold exterior, Minazuki barely reacts to the murderous intent, only responding to the General with, "Are you done? I'm just here to assist with your love problem, but if you don't value your relationship, I guess I could take my leave."

This catches the General's attention and she thinks, " _Damn it, now he's calling me out in front of Tatsumi! If I don't ask him to stay, Tatsumi's going to think I don't value him over my own pride! That damn Monk!_ " "Fine, you may stay, but please refrain from spewing nonsense like that at me.", Esdeath replies before he has the chance to turn and walk away.

" _Good, she took the bait. Now if I can find an opening for Tatsumi and I to escape, we'll be set._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he turns back to face the cliff's edge.

" _What's he thinking!? He's going to get himself killed!_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he continues to shake in fear as Esdeath continues to lay her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Soon, the bandit camp is wiped out completely and Esdeath says, "Well, it's about time to regroup with the others. How about you go on ahead and wait at the bottom of the hill, Tatsumi? I need to have a chat with this Monk."

Tatsumi nervously nods before looking to Minazuki who nods to him, showing that it'll be alright.

Tatsumi heads down the hill to do as the General says, and Esdeath glares at Minazuki and says, "You're a real piece of work, you know that? You didn't even flinch at my murderous intent."

"I'm just a simple monk.", Minazuki replies as he turns away from her and starts to go down the hill, but she grabs his shoulder, stopping him.

The General lets out a deep sigh and forces herself to say, "Monk, I'm...I'm sorry..for snapping at you back there. You were just trying to give advice that you thought would help and I took it personally. And for that, I am sorry."

Minazuki is more than surprised to have seen this side of Esdeath before saying, "It's quite alright. You don't have to accept my advice as fact, but know this, even though the way you see the world is your way of seeing it, just because it's your way doesn't mean that everyone should see it that way. There are millions of people on this planet of ours, not everyone will have the same point of view."

"I see, I'll try to be more...open minded about these things next time.", the sadist replies as she releases her grip on the monk's shoulder.

Minazuki goes to walk again, but is stopped when she says, "Monk, one more thing." Turning to see the woman holding her arm nervously, he raises an eyebrow as Esdeath says, "Tatsumi asked me about why I fight for the Empire, but when I told him that I do it out of the love of the fight, he didn't seem too pleased about it. He actually seemed...disgusted by it... Does that mean, somethings wrong with me? Can I change his way of thinking somehow?"

"Sounds like you might need to change. Love isn't like a river, it goes both ways. You might have to change the darker parts of yourself to help ease your lover's state of mind.", Minazuki replies happily.

"Change...myself? Originally, I intended on molding Tatsumi into becoming a great General like myself. I won't let him be the one changing me, it'll be I who changes him and that's that.", the General growls under her breath, refusing his suggestion.

Shrugging, Minazuki blows off her refusal and says, "That's entirely up to you, General. It's your love life. If you think you can truly change every part of this boy and think that you'll still love him in the end, go for it."

"So you think I shouldn't do that!? What should I do then!?", the woman asks in a slight panic.

"I didn't say you shouldn't, because ultimately that decision is going to fall upon your shoulders to make. But like I said, you have to give a little as well. You can't expect him to change every last thing about himself just for you, because the person you love most should always seem to deserve more than what you have to offer.", Minazuki replies as he starts to walk away from the General.

"Monk!", Esdeath shouts in a more furious tone, causing a slight chill to shoot up the boy's spine.

Minazuki turns to her, expecting to see her weapon drawn and it pointed to his neck, but instead he sees her standing there with a calm look on her face.

"You'll be coming with us to the palace. It seems that this love thing is more complicated than I first thought. So you will be my personal love adviser.", Esdeath says before walking past him to meet Tatsumi and the others.

"I'm guessing I have no say in the matter then?", Minazuki replies with a slight chuckle.

"Nope, unless you want to die that is. But, ultimately, that's your decision to make, isn't it?", the sadist answers with a sinister smile as she glances back at him.

The monk just chuckles at how she turned his own saying against him before saying, "Very well, I'll assist you as best I can, but I would prefer to not fight or kill if that's possible. And I am not joining your band of Imperial Arms users. I am still just a monk."

She lets out a single laugh at his request before saying, "Very well, let's get moving. We've kept them waiting long enough."

* * *

The two leave the cliff, Esdeath leading the way, and heading down the side of the cliff to see Tatsumi waiting with the rest of the Jaegers, who all seem confused by Minazuki's presence. "General Esdeath, there seems to be someone following you.", the blue haired boy notes with a confused look.

"Yes, this is a man I've known for a while now and he's decided to become my love adviser. He's a monk.", Esdeath explains as she introduces Minazuki.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all.", Minazuki greets them with a bow.

"Ah, another mask wearer? How unstylish.", the glove wearing man with glasses says as he pushes up his glasses, covering his face as he does so.

"A monk? Then you must know many secrets about life and peace, correct?", the blonde haired boy from the tournament asks him.

Minazuki nods and says, "I've learned many things through my years, some from the earth itself and some from some of the great people who've inhabited it. I could teach you all many things, but for now, I would like to assist General Esdeath with her love life."

"Then does that mean you're also joining the Jaegers?", the masked man with the flame thrower Imperial Arm asks the monk.

Minazuki shakes his head no, which surprises every one of the Jaegers. "I'm just a simple monk. I'm not that adept at combat, as most of you are. Besides, I don't even wield an Imperial Arm. I'd only slow you down.", Minazuki kindly replies, trying not to offend them.

"So you won't be helping us slaughter the evil in this world?", the orange haired girl with the dog shaped Imperial Arm asks.

"I'm afraid not, child. I'm simply here to advise as best I can.", the monk replies, trying not to hurt her feelings too badly.

"Don't let his words fool you, he took down an Imperial Soldier of my own ranks without any effort whatsoever. And he did it all bare handed. Even though he doesn't wield an Imperial Arm, he's plenty strong enough for most of you to spar with, so if you ask nicely he might allow you a round or two.", Esdeath says as she continues to approach her group.

The black haired girl, who resembles Akame, just rolls her eyes and says, "Doesn't matter to me. Just don't get in our way and we won't have any problems."

The green haired girl from the tournament seems to be glaring at the monk before Esdeath snaps her fingers in front of her masked face asking, "Phi? Are you daydreaming again?"

" _Phi!? So it is her!?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself, starting to slightly panic in his mind, but on the outside he's as cool and calm as always.

"Sorry, ma'am, he just, reminded me of something.", the young girl answers as she turns to Esdeath.

"Ah, so some of your memories are coming back, are they?", Esdeath asks with a smile.

"Memory loss?", Minazuki asks with a confused tone, to which the girl nods and says, "After an accident at my village, I found myself to be the only one left alive. I was badly banged up and most of my memories from that month were gone. I would've died if General Esdeath hadn't showed up when she did. She said that she could see the potential in me and that she had a horse for one more soldier if I was interested. So, I joined her and ever since she's been helping me try to recover my memories of that month."

"That sounds tragic. Was that the same night we met, General? When you were on your way to that village, what was its name again, Tapu Village?", Minazuki asks, trying to play slightly ignorant.

Esdeath nods and says, "She was the only survivor of that landslide. It seems like your guess that an Earth Dragon attacked was very true. Only such a beast could've altered the land so swiftly before anyone had the chance to flee."

"I guess you should all introduce yourselves then. That's an order.", Esdeath says as she turns to her Jaegers.

"I'm Wave, a man of the sea! I'm glad to have you aboard, Sir.", the blue haired boy says with a bow.

"My name is Ran. I'm pleased to meet such a humble soul.", the blonde haired boy says with a bow.

"I'm Bols. Don't let the mask fool you, I'm really not that scary.", the masked man says with a bow.

"I'm Kurome, don't touch my cookies.", the black haired girl adds before grabbing her bag of sweets and clutching them close to her chest.

"I'm Phi. It's nice to meet another martial artist. I'm looking forward to sparing with you sometime.", Phi says with a bow.

"I am the wonderful Doctor Stylish! I'm in search of the ultimate style in this world! If you ever need any fixing up, just give me a ring, okay? I might even give you a few more additions to help you take on those Imperial Arms users.", the gloved man says with a wink.

"And I'm Seryu and this is Koro, my Imperial Arm.", the orange haired girl says with a smile as she holds up her Imperial Arm.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you all.", Minazuki kindly replies before bowing to them all again.

"So, what's your name?", Wave asks, to which Kurome chops his back with her hand.

"Idiot, monks give up their names once they join the temple. He has no name, right?", Kurome scolds the boy before turning to Minazuki.

Minazuki nods in response and says, "I renounced my name years ago. I am now just a simple monk."

"H-how was I supposed to know that!?", Wave exclaims in a panic as he turns to Kurome in embarrassment.

"I knew that.", Bols notes as he raises his hand.

"I knew that as well.", Run adds as he raises his index finger and smiles to the defeated boy.

"Of course I knew. It'd be so unstylish for me not to.", the stylish doctor says as he places his chin in his gloved hand.

"Doctor Stylish taught me that once.", Seryu adds with a smile.

Phi sighs and says, "I don't know how I knew about it, but I at least remembered that he'd have no name."

"Looks like everyone but you knew, Wave. Right, Tatsumi?", Esdeath says before turning to Tatsumi.

Tatsumi raises his hand and says, "I actually didn't know that.", causing Esdeath to sigh.

"Well, our mission was accomplished. Let's return to the Capital! Everyone, move out!", Esdeath orders and everyone starts making their way back to the Capital.

"Um, Esdeath...", Tatsumi says sheepishly.

The woman turns to him with a blushed smile and says, "Yes, my love?"

Somewhat shaking, Tatsumi asks the General, "Well, where exactly am I going to be living from now on?"

Smiling at his question, Esdeath happily replies with, "Well, in my room with me, of course.", without a moment's hesitation.

Tatsumi seems to start panicking even further before Minazuki places a gentle hand on his shoulder and says, "Don't worry, everything will be alright, Tatsumi." His kind words sooth the young boy's worries away and Esdeath is surprised he was able to do so without any real effort.

"How did you do that?", Esdeath whispers in the monk's ear.

"Hm?", Minazuki replies as he looks over his shoulder to her.

Without drawing Tatsumi's attention, Esdeath motions how he put his hand on his shoulder and calmed Tatsumi.

"That? It's just a natural effect I have on people. One of the few things I'm able to do as a monk.", Minazuki whispers back. "Once you have a pure heart and your intentions are true, you'll be able to calm another's heart with just the slightest touch.", Minazuki adds as he looks to Tatsumi with a kind glance.

"Huh.", Esdeath says to herself as she looks at her hand. The General goes and touches Tatsumi's shoulder with a loving smile, but it causes him to nearly jump out of his skin in fear.

Tatsumi quickly turns around to see the General standing there and says, "Please don't do that so suddenly! I almost had a heart attack."

Esdeath apologizes before going silent, lost in thought as she stares at her hand.

" _Is she alright?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself, actually a bit worried about Esdeath.

" _Did I just, hurt Esdeath's feelings?_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as they continue on their path back to the Capital. " _Maybe I should apologize. She seems so, hurt._ ", Tatsumi thinks as he looks back at Esdeath staring at her own hand.

As the night starts to overtake the day, Minazuki, Tatsumi and the Jaegers all head into the palace to get some rest. Minazuki is given his own room, thanks to the General speaking with Prime Minister Honest about her new position she added to her ranks. Tatsumi however, is forced to sleep in the same room as Esdeath.


	11. A Night With Esdeath

It's late at night and Minazuki has been given his own room to stay in at the palace, thanks to his new position as Esdeath's personal 'Love Adviser.' The boy looks at the bed, but doesn't feel like sleeping in it, since he usually slept on the floor while Leone had the bed. Seeing no alternative, Minazuki simply finds a spot in the corner, facing the door, and labels that his sleeping area. " _I can't risk taking this mask off for even a moment. I have to remain in character for as long as I'm within one hundred feet of one of these Jaeger guys. Good thing Izunaga taught me all this monk stuff, or my ass would be cooked, or probably frozen in this case._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he seats himself in the corner.

As Minazuki sits there, looking at the wooden floor, Esdeath's words ring in his mind, "You shouldn't leave this room for any reason tonight. The guards haven't been made aware of your staying here, so they'll likely kill you on sight. I know you're powerful, but these elite guards are likely beyond your level. Please, for your own safety, remain in your room until someone comes to get you in the morning."

" _I guess Tatsumi's on his own for this one. Hopefully he can at least survive one night with Esdeath._ ", the boy thinks to himself, praying for his friend's survival.

* * *

Up in Esdeath's chambers, Tatsumi sits on the large, queen sized bed as he waits for the General to finish her shower, which she's taking in the nearby bathroom. " _How did it turn out like this!? I can't even move, I'm so tense! I need to calm down! I know I can convince her to become an ally if I try hard enough! I need to be a man, like Bulat believed I could be. I need to just go for it!_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he continues to nervously twitch on the bed, trying not to focus on the woman's shadow on the glass door.

When he hears the bathroom door slide open, Tatsumi turns to see General Esdeath in nothing but a slightly unbuttoned dress shirt, revealing her wonderful figure to him. "I'm sorry, I made you wait, didn't I?", Esdeath says with a slight smile aimed at the boy, her gaze focused entirely on him.

"No! Not really, you didn't really!", Tatsumi frantically spouts as the blue haired woman sits down next to him.

"Would you like anything to drink? Some water? Wine maybe?", Esdeath kindly asks the boy as she looks to a small table holding two glasses and multiple adult drinks.

"No! I'm fine, thanks! I'm just fine!", Tatsumi quickly answers as he waves his hands dismissively at the beauty before him.

"Are you nervous, Tatsumi?", Esdeath asks the boy as she turns to look at him with a kind smile.

"N-no...Not at all...", the panicked brunette replies, clamping his clammy hands together and holding them close to his chest as the woman leans towards him, eyeing him up from head to toe.

The woman tilts her head and lets out a slight chuckle at the sight of his now blushing face before saying, "You're so cute."

Hearing the General's kind words, Tatsumi loosens his grip and instead starts to only somewhat nervously tap the tips of his fingers together before muttering, "Hey...Esdeath..." The half naked woman turns to him with a curious look and Tatsumi says, "I'm...sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier. I just kind of spook easy sometimes when I zone out. I'm sorry."

In turn, Esdeath smiles at her lover's apology and says, "It's fine Tatsumi. I guess that's the price I pay for being...well, me. I scare people. When I walk down the street, I see people walk across the street just to avoid being near me. I'm used to it..."

There's a short moment of awkward silence in the room before Tatsumi speaks up and says, "Oh, there was something I'd like to ask you, Esdeath..." "Do you...really like me? Like, you're certain you don't want someone taller or better looki-", the innocent boy begins to ask before Esdeath silences him with a passionate kiss to the lips.

As she kisses him, Esdeath pins the powerless boy to the bed with one hand as she runs her fingers on the other through his brown, silky hair. Through the whole kiss, the passionate woman's eyes are peacefully closed while Tatsumi's are wide open and filled with fear. After breaking the kiss, only doing so for a fresh breath of air, Esdeath asks, "If I didn't like you, we wouldn't be in this position, would we?" Granting the boy a small amount of space, the woman sits down on his legs, warming his lap as she looks to him with loving eyes.

"Then I'd like you to hear something! A request!", Tatsumi blurts out in a panic as her bare thighs touch his pant legs.

"Hm? What is it? You have my complete, undivided attention.", the General replies as she looks down at Tatsumi's reddened face.

With a gulp, Tatsumi swallows the spit welling up in his mouth from the tense situation before remembering the words of advise Minazuki left him after their training. The masked boys voice echoes through Tatsumi's mind as he remembers his friend say, "There are three things you need to remember when you're lying. One, never make a lie too big. If you make some giant lie that you can't back up, it's doomed to fail from the start. Second, the best lies are the ones half full of truths. If you're partially telling the truth, it'll be harder for someone to tell if you're actually lying. And third, and most importantly, never make up a lie that you can't believe. If you can't even believe your own lies, you shouldn't expect anyone else to."

" _Let's just hope that advice works on one of the Three Elemental Generals, or I'm dead!_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself before taking a deep breath and letting it all out with a great sigh. "I hate this Empire as it is now! And I want it to change!", Tatsumi passionately proclaims to the woman as she sits in front of him.

"Well, of course, many people believe the same thing. What of it?", Esdeath calmly replies with a slightly confused look.

"If I'm to fight at your side, I don't want it to be for the Empire! I'd rather not fight in this bloody war, but if I had to choose a side, it'd be with the Revolutionary Army!", Tatsumi shouts, trying to express how he truly feels about the issue to the General without giving away too much. "I've lost a lot to the corruption in this terrible Empire! I lost my friends, my family, everything! I want to change this place for the better, not watch it fall further into the abyss of darkness it's in now! So, would you join me if I were to defect to the Revolutionary Army!? We could save so many!", the boy passionately continues as he radiates an oddly confident aura, causing Esdeath to believe every word from his mouth.

Before he can continue the boy is met with a hot slap to the face as Esdeath shouts, "What are you thinking saying such things to a General of the Empire?! Are you out of your mind!?"

Tatsumi just holds his burning cheek, internally smiling to himself before saying, "I know what I'm saying is stupid, and to a point down right crazy. But, as it is, I can't fight for this. I can't fight for the monster that is this Empire. I'd rather stay home and watch the world burn before I raise a finger in the name of this Empire. And I don't want to lose you in the process. I want a world where you can walk in the streets and people won't try to avoid you. They'd bring their kids up to you and show them the Great General Esdeath, fighter for the People."

As she hears those last words, the Ice Queen feels her now warm heart skip a beat. " _H-he's worried, about me. He's not worried about the fact that the Empire would have him tortured for years for his crimes._ ", Esdeath thinks to herself, her face slightly flushed from the thought of Tatsumi thinking of her so passionately. "You don't have to worry about me, love. All you need to do is stay here by my side, and that's all I'll ever need.", the worried woman replies as she embraces him with a hug. "I understand the pain you had to endure to get this far in life. But from now on, I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again.", Esdeath adds as she rubs her cheek against the one she slapped. As she releases Tatsumi from her clutches, Esdeath grant the boy a foot or so of space before sitting on her knees and looking to him as she says, "Also, as my lover and not my property, you are the only one I see as a man. And I'll never let you feel lonely ever again, Tatsumi~"

Tatsumi sits back a little when he hears this before putting his knees to his chest as he curls up into a ball and says, "I'm really happy you feel that way about me... Nobody really has before, and it feels nice to hear you say those nice things, but still..I..I just can't. If I were to stop caring now and only care about what I wanted, I'd be no better than the corrupt people of this god forsaken world!"

"What is it that troubles you so much, Tatsumi!? Just name who it is you're trying to protect and they'll be placed under my protection!", Esdeath proclaims as she crawls over to him, worried about the sad look coming across his face.

"It's not that...I...I had a dream once... A dream of a country where everyone could live happily. Without having to worry about whether or not they'd be thrown in jail for a crime they didn't commit or murdered by some assassins for just having an opinion! And as rotten to the core this damn Empire is, my dream will never come true here...", Tatsumi passionately replies until the end where he slowly becomes cold and distant.

"...Tatsumi...", Esdeath mutters under her breath as she tries to gently lift his head from his knees.

"Imagine if we met under different circumstances. You were a young woman coming of age in a village and then one day you met me. Our hearts felt for one another, we knew as soon as we met eyes that we were meant to be, but in this society without any real public security, plagued by poverty and hunger... we'd likely never be able to act on those feelings... Too afraid that once we did, it'd all fall apart right from under our feet.", Tatsumi passionately explains as he continues to bury his face in the sanctuary of his knees. "Do you understand now!? That is the Empire I'd love to fight and die for! Not this pile of shit we have now!", the distraught boy finishes as he leaves his head in his knees, patiently waiting for her response. " _She's not gonna buy it! I'm going to die here, aren't I!?_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he begins to panic on the inside, but on the outside, he keeps his depressed looking figure.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I still don't understand.", Esdeath replies as her disheartened voice calls out to Tatsumi. The boy lifts his head up to see the desperate woman grabbing at her heart as she says, "For so long, I've believed that the law of the world was always 'Survival of the Fittest,' yet...that monk, he made me question everything in just a few sentences. Now, I don't know what to believe."

Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to strike his final blow, Tatsumi quickly takes her cold hands into his and tells her, "Then let's figure this out together! We don't have to join the Revolutionary Army if you don't want to, but if we leave the Empire now, we might have a shot later in helping rebuild! We can help shape this world for the better, for the people who'd find their destined partner and under this cruel Empire, would never be able to share their feelings with one another! Let's leave this evil place and never look back!"

Esdeath looks up into his eyes and sees that they're burning with all kinds of emotion while thinking, "That expression is...so nice..but still.." Much to Tatsumi's surprise, Esdeath finally speaks up and says, "That's not going to happen." The icy General gives him a quick glare before growling to the boy, "My duties come first! I may be a woman and I may be your lover, but above all else I'm a General of this Empire. I'm not going to be changed by you, understand? I'm going the one who's going to mold you into becoming a great General like myself one day! Nothing else matters!"

Tatsumi releases his hold on the Ice Queen's hands and turns away from her before defiantly growling back, "Fine, say what you want about changing me, but this dream of mine isn't going away so easily! Even if you torture me!" " _Wait, why did I say that last part!? Why am I giving her ideas!?_ ", the panicked boy begins to think without losing his cool, defiant shell.

Esdeath lets out a slight snicker as she witnesses Tatsumi's reaction before saying, "You're just so stubborn, just like me. I guess that's just one of the few things that draws me to you, Tatsumi~" " _I guess that stubborn attitude of his is also how he can keep that happy smile of his. I want to see that smiling face so bad, these feelings, I want him more than anything. I'll have to keep his opinion in mind from now on..._ ", the woman thinks to herself as she looks at her lover longingly with his back turned toward her. With a heavy yawn, Esdeath stretches her arms into the air and says, "Well, I'm tired after today's events and that conversation. We'll talk more about this another time. But for now, shall we go to sleep?"

Slightly baffled by her innocent response to his rebellion, Tatsumi looks at the smiling woman with a confused glance as he thinks, " _So, did I win or did I lose? I don't get it. Maybe it's a draw? I don't understand these things._ " His gaze shifts over to the nearby couch and as he starts heading toward it he says, "Then I'll go sleep on the couch. You got an extra blanket?"

Before Tatsumi can leave her side however, Esdeath grabs his arm and says, "I'm not mad about what you said! I'm...I'm actually taking everything you said into careful consideration, Tatsumi! Now, please, sleep in the bed with me!"

Tatsumi's left amazed by what he just heard her say, his eyes widening in complete astonishment as he thinks, " _Taking into consideration? Does that mean...I won!? I won over Esdeath!? YES! That crazy bastard was right!_ " "I just need to take a quick shower first! Then I'll be right out, okay?", Tatsumi say as he gently pats Esdeath on the hand and calmly heads to the bathroom with a smile.

As she sees his smile, Esdeath's once frozen heart warms up and starts to beat erratically. " _There it is, the smile I love so much! Monk, your advice really did work after all. I just have to listen to what he says and take it into consideration. I'll win Tatsumi's heart!_ ", the loving woman thinks to herself as she watches the man she loves walk into the bathroom and close the door behind him. As the door shuts behind him, Esdeath mutters to herself, "Maybe we should've showered together? Would that have broken the ice a little better? No, I don't need to rush things." Laying flat on her back, Esdeath's gaze falls upon the ceiling as she rests her head on one of her pillows before thinking, " _All I need to do is trust in the Monk's advice and I'll find my way through this jumbled maze of love. And at the end, is Tatsumi's heart~_ "

* * *

The next morning, Minazuki is sleeping soundly in his room. As the door slowly creeks open, Seryu and Run glance inside to see the monk sleeping on the floor with his back against the wall.

"How strange, but I guess that's how monks prefer to sleep.", Seryu quietly notes to herself before walking into the room, causing the blonde boy behind her to slightly tense up.

"Seryu, be careful, his body might react in his sleep.", Run whispers to the orange haired girl as he tries to warn her, but she innocently waves off his worry.

"It's fine, I'm just gonna tap his shoulder. He can clearly sense my love of justice and won't atta-", Seryu begins to say before going to touch Minazuki on his shoulder.

But much to the guard's surprise, the monk's body reacts almost on instinct and as his left hand grabs her mechanical arm, his right pulls back a fist ready to hit her. The deadly fist nearly reaches the poor girl's face before Run desperately exclaims, "Monk! Awaken!"

Minazuki's eyes shoot open to the sound of shouting and he sees Seryu with her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the punch to connect. Minazuki glances over to his other hand to see it holding her metal arm before releasing his grasp on her and simply patting Seryu on the head. "That was very dangerous, Child. You almost got hurt. Don't you know not to wake a monk with just touch?", the Monk warns Seryu as he ruffles her hair.

The righteous girl opens her eyes as she feels her head being patted and says, "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd react that way to me."

"It wasn't exactly me, it's muscle memory. My body has such good reflexes that it sometimes acts on its own.", Minazuki kindly corrects the girl, trying to make it feel like it wasn't her fault. "What was it you needed, Children?", Minazuki asks as he looks over to Run, who's still standing in the doorway.

"General Esdeath wanted us to wake you. She said she wanted you in the meeting room right away. It's the red door down the left hall on the left side.", Run explains as he wipes the sweat from his brow. " _Seryu almost got turned into paste. I'd best make sure everyone knows just to shout for him instead of trying to wake him up like that._ ", Run thinks to himself as he and Seryu leave the room and go down the hall to have breakfast with Bols.

Minazuki pulls himself off of the ground as he thinks, " _Damn, that was close. If I would've hit her, they would've figured out that I'm actually wearing an Imperial Arm! That could've ended badly._ "

After quickly composing himself as he looks at his own reflection in the window, Minazuki heads out into the hallway only to find a half-dressed Esdeath, still fixing her belt. "Ah, Monk, I hope you slept well.", the General happily calls out to him as she motions for him to follow.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking. But it seems I almost hit one of your subordinates when they tried to wake me up with a tap to the shoulder. Luckily, I woke up before anything bad happened.", the monk replies, rubbing the back of his neck as he tells her about the last part.

With a slight groan, Esdeath fixes the buttons on her dress shirt as she says, "I knew I should've told them to just ring a bell or something. It doesn't matter now." To the monk's surprise, Esdeath suddenly stops in her tracks as she puts on her white jacket and asks, "Monk, may I ask you something?"

Stopping just as abruptly as she did, Minazuki glances over to the General and replies with a question of his own, asking, "Isn't that what you brought me here for, my advice?"

The woman only chuckles at his response before asking, "How far should I go with Tatsumi?"

"How far should you go?", Minazuki echoes back to her with a confused tone.

"Yes, how far should I change myself to help him love me better?", Esdeath growls with a slight glare as she scolds the monk for answering with another question.

When he hears this, Minazuki lets out a light sigh of relief before saying, "As far as your heart tells you to, General. If you truly believe that Tatsumi is your destined soul mate, then you should try everything in your power to make him yours, including changing the very way you think."

"Ah, I see, thank you again.", the icy General replies as she starts to put on her arm warmers and continues down the hallway.

As the duo heads down the hall, Minazuki sees the red door leading to the meeting room that Run described. With her uniform only halfway complete, Esdeath opens the door and says, "Tatsumi~ Where are you~" The woman's gaze finally falls upon the boy when she sees Tatsumi sitting with Wave, Phi and Kurome. "There you are, and it seems that our group is all here for this mission.", Esdeath notes with a smile aimed at Tatsumi.

"Mission?", Wave asks with a raised eyebrow as he looks to his commander.

Esdeath nods to the blue-haired boy and says, "We're heading to Fake Mountain to hunt for a few days. This will give me some time to truly understand Tatsumi's and the Monk's fighting abilities." The General pulls out a map from her jacket pocket and lays it out on the table for all to see as she says, "Fake Mountain is the perfect place to stage an ambush, so keep your eyes open for any enemy activity while we're hunting and watch each other's backs!"

"Roger!", Kurome, Wave, and Phi all reply in unison.

Esdeath fixes her shirt's slightly crooked collar and slips on her boots before saying, "Until evening, we'll be hunting for Treeman Cells. Once we get there, Kurome, Phi, and myself will search the East side while Wave, Tatsumi and the Monk search the West side." With her nimble fingers working their magic, the General quickly laces up her boots and places her hat on her head before saying, "One more thing, I didn't get to see much of your Imperial Arms yesterday, Kurome and Phi, so as your Captain, I need to make sure of your abilities."

"Huh? Does that mean you already know mine then, General?", Wave asks, slightly hurt by his Commander's comment.

"You happened upon a great teacher. Your strength is perfect, that's why I'm trusting you with Tatsumi and my Love Adviser.", Esdeath explains to the thickheaded with a smile as she fixes her hat.

A confident smile comes across the boy's face as he hears this and when Tatsumi and Minazuki see it, they know they've just been given their escape on a silver platter. " _With this guy watching over us, we'll be able to escape without any effort at all._ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself with a grin on his face.

Minazuki however is fixated on Wave's Imperial Arm, Grand Chariot. " _That Imperial Arm, it's Grand Chariot if my memory serves me right. It's an armor type just like Incursio. It's stronger and faster, but its Trump Card is less impressive to say the least._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as Wave catches him staring at his Imperial Arm.

"What seems to be the matter, bud?", Wave asks with a confused look on his face.

Minazuki lets out a kind chuckle before saying, "It's nothing, Child. I can sense the strength within you and your Imperial Arm, and I'm impressed." As Wave seems to buy his response, Minazuki suddenly senses someone watching them from out in the hallway. He fakes adjusting his mask so he can close his eyes to get a better look and when he does, the monk sees they're being spied on by Doctor Stylish.

"At dusk, Tatsumi will go with me while the rest of you setup camp.", Esdeath orders, causing Tatsumi to flinch a little.

"I have just one question.", Minazuki notes with his finger raised slightly.

"And what might that be, Monk?", Esdeath asks with a curious look on her face.

Minazuki then points over to Doctor Stylish as the man hides in the shadows of the doorway and asks, "Why is Doctor Stylish stalking us from the hallway?"

Everyone turns to where the monk is pointing and they all sense that Doctor Stylish is in the hallway, observing them from afar.

Esdeath scowls toward the doorway and shouts, "Stylish, in here, now!"

The confident Doctor struts his way in with a slightly displeased frown on his face before saying, "My, my, I thought I was masking my presence pretty well. You're pretty good, for a monk."

"My training allows me to sense even the faintest of heartbeats. The fact that you're alive gave away your location.", Minazuki lies, but everyone believes him and they're all mesmerized by it.

"Wow! What amazing training! I want to learn how to have senses like that!", Wave exclaims, beyond impressed by his skills.

"Alright, we're off then! And Doctor Stylish, if you happen to follow us, I'll make sure to deal with your punishment personally.", Esdeath says before letting out a wave of her murderous intent to scare Stylish into submission.

Stylish however simply leaves the room with his elbow in one hand and the side of his face in the other. As he takes his leave down the hallway, Stylish thinks to himself, "That monk, somethings odd about him... It's so...stylish! I'll have to keep my eyes on him~"

* * *

Later that day, Minazuki, Tatsumi and Wave are walking along a rocky path to the top of Fake Mountain on its Western side. Wave looks around at the earthy terrain in amazement before noting, "I know all the danger beast species that live in the sea, but as for the mountains, I'm completely clueless."

Minazuki lets out a slight sigh before telling the ill-informed seaman, "Most of the beasts here use camouflage to setup surprise attacks. Keep your guard up, or you're dead."

"O-okay..!", Wave nervously replies at the sudden change in Minazuki's personality.

Tatsumi looks around a bit and thinks, " _I knew it, or maybe I should say I was expecting it. Coming here reminds me of the time I spent training here with Bro._ "

"Hey, why didn't you bring that up when we were back at the palace?", Wave asks Minazuki with a slightly concerned glance aimed at the monk.

"Because the General already knows this area. Since she's with the others, she's likely already warned them of the uniqueness of the beasts that live here. I just thought it was necessary to inform you in case you weren't aware, since you are more of a man of the sea than land.", Minazuki says in a kinder tone than before.

"Most of the monsters here just look like trees and rocks. If you keep your eyes out for those, you should be good, Wave.", Tatsumi reassures the boy with a slight smile.

"T-thanks. You two might not have any Imperial Arms, but you sure do know a lot. You probably have all kinds of skills of your own, right? If anything happens to show up, I guess I should turn to you guys for some advice.", Wave replies to the duo with a smile.

"You're welcome. That's okay though, I'm used to being treated like I know nothing.", Tatsumi replies as they continue up the path.

"I kind of feel where you're coming from. You kind of, somehow, remind me of myself, Tatsumi.", Wave says with as the seaman rubs the back of his head anxiously.

"Yourself? What exactly reminds you of yourself?", Tatsumi asks as he smells himself and checks the rest of his body for similarities.

"It's hard to say exactly, but it seems to me that you're familiar with the same problems I have.", Wave says as he puts his face in the palm of his right hand and thinks about his new teammates.

Tatsumi grabs his head and lets out a light sigh before saying, "You can stop, I get it. I kind of get what you're saying, so that's enough.", as he thinks about all the members of Night Raid.

Suddenly there's a shift in the wind and Wave shuts his eyes for a second to take in the cool breeze while saying, "Well, anyways, let's get along since we're in the same boat, right?"

Tatsumi and Minazuki suddenly lock eyes with one another and nod without looking at Wave, to which Tatsumi starts to draw his sword.

When Wave opens his eyes, he sees Tatsumi charging head first at him, prepared to attack. The seaman goes to defend himself with his sheathed blade, but much to his surprise Tatsumi moves past him and slices a Treeman tentacle clean in half with his sword, Incursio's key.

"You saved me! I owe you one!", Wave shouts as he prepares to fight, drawing his blade from its sheath as he takes his stance against the beasts.

While Minazuki rushes past the two boys, Tatsumi shouts, "Don't mention it!"

The monk leaps into the air and growls, "I'll end this.", before punching the Treeman straight in its eye, putting a hole straight through its brain and killing it.

"W-woah! What power!", Wave shouts, impressed by Minazuki's raw power.

The monk retreats back to the two boys and says, "We're surrounded.", before more Treemen and Rockmen erupt out from the earth.

"Attacking in groups, huh? You definitely don't look as tasty as the monsters of the sea.", Wave comments as he readies his blade.

"These guys aren't very strong individually, but they attack in large numbers, be careful.", Minazuki warns the cocky boy as he takes his fighting stance.

"Okay! Let's clean out this area and turn them into firewood!", Tatsumi shouts and they all attack at once.

* * *

After the dust clears from their battle, Wave wipes the sweat from his brow and says, "Phew, that was a hard one, right Tatsumi?" The seaman turns around to see Tatsumi's missing and asks, "Hey Mister Monk, have you seen-", and before he can finish, he notices Minazuki is gone as well. Thrown into a panic, Wave desperately looks for any trace of the two, but finds none.

Off far away from the panicking seaman, Minazuki and Tatsumi are using their Imperial Arms to make their escape as Tatsumi explains the events of last night to him. "Good job Tatsumi. You might not have convinced her to join the Revolutionary Army, but it's a start.", Minazuki commends the boy with a nod.

Back with Wave, he still can't find Tatsumi or Minazuki and growls to himself, "Damn it, where'd they go? Don't tell me they, got kidnapped by the enemy!? This is bad! I wasn't paying attention and now Night Raid probably has them! I have to rescue them! And to that, I have to use IT!"

Back with Tatsumi and Minazuki, they hear the sound of a beast roaring and Minazuki says, "That must be Grand Chariot! I'll hide underground and follow you by digging my way through."

"Hey, you can't just hide like that!", Tatsumi shouts as Minazuki hides underground. " _Damn it! Now this is a real mess!_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself before he senses an incoming attack and dodges on instinct. The armored boy turns back to see a blue armor type Imperial Arm that resembles his own. " _That must be Wave and Grand Chariot. An Armor Type Imperial Arm...?_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as Wave walks out of the dust cloud he just made.

"Hey hey, seems like I was right! Tell me where you took Tatsumi and the Monk and I might have mercy on your life, Night Raid!", Wave shouts as he points at Tatsumi.

" _This isn't good. He thinks that Tatsumi kidnapped us. You better think of something fast, Tatsumi._ ", Minazuki thinks as he sees no weak point in the Grand Chariot Armor.


	12. The Grand Escape

Wave and Tatsumi both stand firm, staring each other down, with Wave completely oblivious to the fact that Minazuki is hidden right below the earth. Tatsumi quickly tries to make a break for it by jumping away, but Wave manages to intercept his escape and block off any attempt he makes at running away without a fight.

" _This is gonna be bad if Esdeath shows up! We have to deal with this fast!_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as Wave continues to block his path.

"I won't let you escape, Night Raider! Man up and fight me!", Wave shouts as he leaps toward Tatsumi with a devastating kick.

Tatsumi leaps out of the way of the destructive attack, dodging to the side while shouting, "I have no reason to fight you! Leave!"

"You might not have a reason to fight me, but I have a reason to fight you!", Wave shouts back as he punches Tatsumi as hard as he can into the mountain side. As the stone cracks from the impact, Wave shouts, "And that reason is Night Raid!" Wave jumps back as Tatsumi slides down to his knees, and the blue haired boy says, "I've read the data on you guys. Over and over you indiscriminately carry out your assassinations. You're villains that are slowly eating away at the peace and security of the Capital. To make matters worse, the story is you're somehow connected to the Revolutionary Army as well. Your very existence can not be forgiven!"

With rage filling his soul, Tatsumi rises to his feet and shouts, "You're wrong! It's true that we do kill people, but...We...Night Raid.. We are nothing like villains!" His burning rage fills Incursio and power starts to swell withing the armor itself, fixing the dings and cuts Wave had just inflicted on it.

Suddenly, Bulat's voice rings in the young boy's mind, saying, "You won't survive if you just let your boiling blood control your actions. Always keep a cool head in dangerous times."

" _He was right. No matter what, I need to keep my cool in times like these. Make a plan, and get out. That's my goal right now._ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he looks for a way out of this mess, but before he can escape Wave spikes him back down to the ground with a devastating kick.

With his burning passion in his heart, Wave glares down at his opponent as he growls, "I already told you once, I won't let you escape! The only way you're leaving here is in a body bag!" With his threat out in the open, Wave charges at Tatsumi oncemore, causing a massive shockwave as the two clash with one another.

* * *

Hearing the commotion going on above him, Minazuki closes his eyes and quickly thinks, " _This isn't good. Tatsumi doesn't have the experience to deal with Wave. Even if Tatsumi had as much experience with Incursio as Wave does Grand Chariot, this would still be a tough battle for him. If I act now, I can kill him without anyone hearing._ " As he goes to unleash a wave of earth spears at Wave while the armored boy fights his friend, he pulls his fist back and contemplates, " _Just one hit, that's all it'll take. I can end this here and now._ "

Before he can unleash his attack however, Minazuki hears a familiar voice in the back of his head call out to him, mocking him as it says, "Yes, kill him. Kill him like all the other innocent people you've murdered."

Minzuki's eyes quickly shoot open in fear and his heartbeat skyrockets as his clenched fists start to tremble. The boy frantically looks around his small hole underground bunker, barely managing to mutter to himself, "But, where did-", before seeing Esdeath appear out of nowhere before him.

"Where did I come from? Shouldn't that be obvious by now? I'm always with you, Minazuki.", the phantom growls at the boy as she looks down at him, her cold eyes matching the original Esdeath's perfectly. With a cruel smile coming across her face, the General mocks him oncemore, noting, "So you're going to kill him without him even knowing? That's just like you, too afraid to look your victims in the eyes as you kill them. You always kill them with your gaze turned elsewhere so you don't have to see what you've done. You're a monster and a coward."

Minazuki throws a punch at the woman, but his attack passes through her and hits the wall, shattering the stone behind her as he roars, "Shut up!", back at the phantom. As the woman's body seems to disappear into the very walls, the boy's left in complete horror as the stones around him start to crack. " _W-what the-_ ", he begins to think before the rocks shatter like glass and he's left standing in an empty abyss, surrounded by nothing but darkness.

"Wondering where you are?", a voice calls out to him from behind, and when Minazuki whirls around to see who it is, he sees it's Esdeath again. She's in her usual General uniform with her rapier drawn, ready to cut him down at any second. "Do you not recognize this place?", the phantom curiously asks the boy, seeming somewhat surprised that he doesn't seem to know where they are.

Minazuki glances around for a moment, and as he fails to remember this dark world around them, he mutters, "No, I don't." He looks down at his hands and as he sees his bare hands, his eyes widen in shock. " _Where's Quake!?_ ", the panicked boy thinks as he continues to look down at his hands. Minazuki quickly feels his face and instead of a mask, he feels his face. " _The mask too!? When did I lose them!?_ ", he continues to panic as Esdeath slowly starts walking over to him through the darkness, dragging the tip of her blade along her side as she cuts through the twilight.

"Don't worry, Coward, you'll remember soon enough.", Esdeath happily tells the boy as she raises her blade and slashes at the confused boy.

Barely able to react to the Ice Queen's quick movements, Minazuki leaps back to avoid the silver blade, its razor sharp tip barely missing his nose as he evades the attack.

"Would you like me to tell you where you are, Coward?", the General asks Minazuki as she prepares to attack him oncemore. As she slashes wildly at the boy, Esdeath explains, saying, "This is the darkness in your heart, Coward! Think of it as your own personal Hell!" With each attack she makes getting faster and faster, Minazuki takes fails to evade the final hit of her rapid slashes, leaving a cut across his cheek. "Hm, so you're not only a coward, you're also a weakling then? Come on, fight me! Stand up and fight me!", the woman demands as she charges at him again with her blade ready to strike.

" _I guess I have no choice!_ ", the panicked boy thinks as he ducks under the General's blade, following up with a quick uppercut to her jaw. The attack goes straight through her phantom body and the woman quickly counters by appearing behind him before stabbing him straight through the back. Minazuki, feeling the sharp pain through his chest and the warm liquid escaping the exit, looks down to see the tip of Esdeath's blade sticking out of his chest as blood drips down from it, falling seemingly into the empty void below them.

"Pathetic.", Esdeath growls as she places the sharp heel of her boot on the boy's back before delivering a quick kick to him, sending Minazuki flying off of her blade and tumbling across the invisible ground. As she makes her way over to the now immobilized boy, Esdeath scolds him yet again, saying, "You'll die here if you don't defeat me, so stand up and fight! Or are you just that much of a coward, that you'd rather stay here and die than face what you've done?"

" _Face what I've done..? Does she mean...?_ ", Minazuki begins to think before the thoughts of Tapu village and all those he killed run wild in his mind. As he hears their howling, demanding he die for what he did to them, Minazuki manages to force himself to stand, grasping at his head in pain as he remembers the many faces of those he'd killed in his own village. As his thoughts become reality, the many villagers Minazuki left behind in his past life appear before him with their bodies mangled and deformed, leaving the boy in complete and utter terror.

"You can't escape what you've done, Coward! These are your sins, the sins of a KILLER!", Esdeath exclaims as she sees his frightened expression. Faced with the many innocent people he helped send to an early grave, Minazuki finds himself unable to even move or breath as the hoard of undead raise their farming tools against him. In a split second, Minazuki finds himself run through with a wide variety of equipment, ranging from basic kitchen knives all the way up to the scythe embedded in his chest. With all the weapons seeming to have hit their mark, Minazuki falls to his knees with blood pouring out of every wound.

As the phantom smiles down at the broken boy, seeing her handiework, she's shocked to hear the boy mutter to her, "You're right."

"Ah, so you finally admit to it then? You're a monster just like me.", she happily replies as her grin widens at the victory before her.

Minazuki quickly rips this wonderful feeling from her, turning her gleeful grin into an irritated scowl as he forces himself to his feet, fighting through the pain as he growls, "No, I'm not a monster." As he finally makes it to his feet, he starts pulling the blades from his body as he continues on, saying, "I might be a killer, but everything I've done has been for the greater good. Everything life I've taken has been to better this world and end the constant suffering that this Empire plagues us with." With every weapon except for the scythe in his chest pulled free from his body, Minazuki grabs the rusted blade with both hands before shouting, "But if that makes me a monster, then I don't care! I might not've been able to save everyone back then, but now...now I have the power to make a difference, to save everyone... Everyone would have wanted me to keep going, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, no matter what!", as he rips the last piece of metal from his chest.

As the scythe's blade makes a metallic clank against the darkness below them, the phantom's scowl slowly shifts to a slight smirk. "So you've finally done it. You've accepted your fate.", she happily mutters as she looks to the wounded boy, confusing him with her seemingly misplaced smirk. As the boy raises an eyebrow at the woman's odd expression, he hears a crackling noise followed by cracks starting to form on the General's body and clothes. With a kind smile the woman shatters like glass right before Minazuki's eyes, causing an explosion of light that blinds him and forces him to cover his eyes.

When the light finally dies down, Minazuki uncovers his eyes to see not Esdeath standing in front of him, but...himself? It's an exact copy of himself, one wearing Shoryu's signature mask along with his jacket and Imperial Arm. Minazuki looks down at himself to see that his body is completely healed before gazing around to see that the once completely dark world covered in twilight is now a mixture of both darkness and light.

As his copy extends his hand out to him, Minazuki looks to his reflection, completely astonished by what he's seeing. " _Is that...me?_ ", the baffled boy thinks to himself as he looks into his copy's eyes. They're the only thing that don't match Minazuki to a T, being eyes like a Danger Beast rather than that of a human.

Before Minazuki can ask it any questions, his slightly monstrous counterpart scolds him, saying in a slightly deeper version of his own voice, "We're running out of time. Return to the real world and save the innocent and rid this world of the darkness in it. Like we've always wanted." The figure takes a few more steps towards the boy before placing its open hand on Minazuki's chest, covering his heart as the gauntlets begin to glow with an ominous brown aura. As the aura envelops Minazuki's entire body, the figure before him shouts, "Now, return to reality!", and the world becomes dark oncemore.

* * *

Shocked back into reality, Minazuki jerks his entire body forward as he opens his eyes to see nothing but the darkness and stone walls around him. " _Was that...all a dream?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself before patting his body for wounds. When he fails to find any sign of injury, the boy relaxes, letting out a heavy sigh of relief as he loosens his shoulders and slouches. But as he takes another breath, he feels an odd pain in his chest before thinking, " _Wait, how long have I been in here..?_ " Realizing what's happened, Minazuki closes his eyes to sense the world around him, thinking, " _I must've used up too much air when I was panicking in my dream! If I don't help deal with Wave now, I won't be able to get out of here in time to get fresh air..._ "

Much to Minazuki's surprise, Tatsumi and Wave are still fighting, though Tatsumi is doing more evading and blocking than attacking. As the silver armored boy evades another destructive kick from the blue suited seaman, Wave furiously exclaims, "Stop running and fight me like a man, Night Raid!"

" _I have to do something now, or Tatsumi's going to die out there..._ ", Minazuki continues to think as he tries to put together a plan to save the boy from certain death. " _Earth Dragons!_ ", the masked boy cheers internally as a lightbulb turns on in his brain. With a few punches to the earth, Minazuki causes the earth under the two warriors' feet to tremble ferociously.

After sending Tatsumi flying across the battlefield with yet another kick, Wave stops for a moment to look around for the source of such powerful shaking, thinking, " _W-what the hell is that!? An earthquake!?_ "

As Tatsumi pulls himself up off of the dirt, he looks to the ground and thinks, " _Minazuki..? What are you doing?_ " Much to the young boy's surprise, what looks like an Earth Dragon; a tall creature with dark brown scales standing taller than the average tree, bursts out from the earth.

"W-what the hell!? Is that a Danger Beast!?", Wave exclaims in complete aw at the creature before him, only to be further baffled by the beast swiping Tatsumi with its tail, launching the boy straight into the lake!

Under the water, Tatsumi finds himself pulled into a small tunnel before the hole he came from suddenly closes itself. After coughing up the water in his lungs, Tatsumi looks around to see he's underground and thinks to himself, " _I guess Minazuki finally found his opening. Heh, took him long enough. I can barely move now..._ " With the last of his energy fading, Incursio returns to its key and Tatsumi passes out face first into the dirt. As the boy lays unconscious on the ground, the earth raises up behind him, making a small platform that scoops him up and carries him along down the tunnel, taking the boy straight to Minazuki.

" _Alright, I have Tatsumi now, and better yet Wave seems to be buying it. Since he doesn't seem to know that much about these kinds of Danger Beasts, I can use that to my advantage. It might not be perfect because of the pressure and lack of air, but I can at least fool him into thinking he's fighting an Earth Dragon._ ", Minazuki thinks as he manipulates the stone dragon. With a few quick motions of his hands, Minazuki makes the stone copy lash out at Wave with its long claws.

Wave however isn't intimidated by the beast in the slightest and shouts, "I don't have time for you! Get out of the way!", as he delivers a devastating kick to the beast's face, causing it to go flying into the nearby forest.

" _So this is Grand Chariot's power! And we haven't even seen its Trump Card yet..._ ", Minazuki notes mentally as Wave rushes to the riverside to look for his target oncemore.

As the the blue haired boy looks to the calm waves in river, he sees no sign of the Incursio armor and shouts, "What!? He's gone!? Where'd he run off to!?" The seaman looks at the river and follows the current with his eyes, seeing it's going downstream before shouting, "The current! He's using the current to escape undetected! That's a cleaver trick, Night Raider, but it won't fool a man of the sea!" With his heart burning with his desire to complete his duty, Wave quickly follows the current, leaving the battleground behind in search for Tatsumi.

With the threat running down the river, a hole bursts open in the earth and out pops Minazuki, with the unconscious Tatsumi in his arms. As he finally escapes the small prison he made himself, Minazuki gasps for air, desperately taking in every last bit of oxygen he can before coughing it back up. After a moment, Minazuki finally regains his ability to breath normally and takes in the situation for a second, looking to the broken, unconscious Tatsumi laying next to him.

" _To think Tatsumi had the Incursio armor on and Wave still did this much damage to him._ _Wave and Grand Chariot, they're a real force to be avoided then._ ", Minazuki thinks as Tatsumi lays on his back, seemingly asleep. Minazuki suddenly senses something nearby and thinks, " _A Danger Beast? I can barely sense it, yet it's so close... Am I just that tired, or did that fight from earlier drain me that much..?_ "

Without any warning, the beast leaps out of the nearby bushes and tackles Minazuki to the ground. With his eyehole covered, the masked boy can't see a thing though he feels warmth wrapped around most of his body before hearing a familiar voice shout, "You idiot, what did you think you were doing!? Infiltrating the palace like that!?" As he regains his sight, Minazuki sees Leone, who has his mask in hand, making breathing much easier for the boy.

"Leone? What are y-", Minazuki begins to ask the girl before she cuts him off by saying, "We need to get moving! The Jaegers are bound to come back here, right Akame?"

Glancing over the blonde's shoulders, Minazuki sees Akame just eliminated a danger beast that was getting slightly too close to them before she says, "Yes, but first we need to tend to Tatsumi's wounds. He's hurt badly."

"Leone? Akame? Why are you two here?", Minazuki weakly as he tries to move, but finds it's too hard to do so.

"We've all been going out and keeping watch for you guys after Leone told us you were going to infiltrate the palace. We were stalking the North entrance when we saw you guys going on your hunting trip. We were tailing you in secret.", Akame explains as she checks on Tatsumi only to find he's completely unconscious.

"We lost you for a moment there, but we just now caught up. I'm surprised you didn't just kill him, Minazuki. That blue armored guy.", Leone says with a slightly confused look.

"There wasn't any need for him to die.", Minazuki sluggishly replies as he lays in the lioness' arms.

As the two girls look to Tatsumi, Akame nervously notes, "It looks like he really took a beating. He's alive, but it's gonna take some time before he's up at full strength again." Throwing her unconscious friends' body over her shoulders, Akame starts carrying Tatsumi as she says, "Let's go home...Tatsumi."

Lubbock suddenly jumps out of the bushes, ruining the moment, while saying, "HELLO~~" He grabs of Akame and Leone's shoulders, pulling them along with Tatsumi and Minazuki, who were being held up by the girls. Lubbock looks back at them and shouts, "We don't have time for this right now! We need to get as far away from Esdeath as humanly possible! Come on! Let's go!"

"Calm down Lub! We'll be fine. We just need to be a bit careful for the moment, just relax.", Leone says to him with a swift blow to the back, that was supposed to be a pat but instead it sends him toppling over.

"You came too, Lub..? Thanks.", Minazuki says with a light chuckle and a smile.

"Well, at first I advised them that this was just stupid. You two both walked right into the lion's den. There was like zero chance of getting either one of you back alive. And, you know, with both of you guys gone, I'd be the only guy left in the house. It'd be like my own harem. You know how long I've dreamed about having my own harem, Tatsumi!", Lubbock replies with a grin on his face.

"He might say that, but the truth is he was worried sick about both of you guys, right Lub?", Leone jokingly adds as she smirks at the green haired pervert.

"S-shut up!", Lubbock growls back at her, seeming to dodge the question.

"We missed you too, Lubbock.", Minazuki says with a slight smile aimed at the boy. " _Night Raid... A group of killers and murderers, and I'm one of them... And that's okay._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as they continue to head back to the base.

* * *

The next day, Wave is being tortured for his failure to protect Minazuki and Tatsumi along with failing to terminate the member of Night Raid he encountered. He's sitting in front of Kurome, Ran, and Esdeath, tied to a pole sitting atop spikes that are digging into his knees from the weight of the stone slabs that have been put on top of his lap. "General, I'm truly very sorry for what I've done! I've deeply reflected on my actions and I apologize.", Wave says through the pain in his legs.

"Due to your ignorance, Tatsumi and my Love Adviser may be dead or in the hands of Night Raid. But more than that, above all, is the fact that you allowed a member of Night Raid to escape! That is the most shameful of all your crimes! Kurome, stone!", Esdeath says with a disappointed look before motioning for Kurome to drop another stone slab onto the pile. Kurome does so without any hesitation, causing Wave to scream out in pain. "It was the Incursio armor, so it was the one known as the 'Hundred Man Slayer,' Bulat then. Within Night Raid, he is a person deserving of special attention. And this is why you were told, that once found, that no Night Raid member could be allowed to escape! Now the enemy will likely change the location of their hideout and go into hiding for who knows how long! KUROME, HEAT!", Esdeath says before Kurome uses a lit candle to burn the back of Wave's neck.

"AHHH, HOTTTTT", Wave shouts as the flames touch his neck and sear his flesh.

"Wave, your abilities are top notch, but your mental control is lacking at best. At least you're reflecting... So we'll finish your punishment with some water torture and a bit of light whipping then we'll put this all behind us.". Esdeath says with a sigh. She puts her hand to her face and her murderous intent fills the room as she says, "The next time you screw up this badly, I'll be handling your punishment personally! So keep that in mind!"

This strikes fear into everyone in the room and Wave nervously replies with, "Y-yes, ma'am, understood!"

The door suddenly slides open and they see Seryu and Phi rushing in. "General Esdeath! Our apologizes! We were unable to locate any signs of Tatsumi, the Monk, or the enemy! Even using Koro and Phi's tracking skills, our efforts were ineffective!", Seryu reports with a salute.

"Well, Koro is more for battle anyways. And it's to be expected of an assassin to leave no trail to follow. But what about Stylish? I sent him out to search as well. Has he not reported back yet?", Esdeath says as she looks up at the two girls.

"He has yet to report back, General. He seems to be acting on his own accord.", Phi says with a sigh.

"I see, it might be from the scolding I gave him this morning. How annoying. I'll be sure to deal with his punishment when he gets back.", Esdeath says in an annoyed tone.

"General, I have a question about Tatsumi and the Monk.", Ran asks. Esdeath turns to him and motions for him to go on. "You were saying before that there was a possibility that Tatsumi might join the Revolutionary Army and that this Monk could also turn to them as well, is that really true?", Ran asks with a concerned look.

"Yes, he desperately tried to get me to defect from the Empire and remain neutral throughout the war in fact. I'm afraid that if I don't help him see proper logic, he'll turn to the Revolutionary Army to fulfill his 'dream world' idea. And as for the Monk, I'm still unsure about his motivations. He's a complete mystery. He seems to be a man who'd prefer to stay out of the war, but he dislikes the Empire as it is now, so it's likely that if he chose a side, he'd likely be our enemy.", Esdeath explains with her cheek in her hand as she looks away from Ran.

"If they do in fact end up our enemy in the future, how would you like us to deal with the situation?", Ran asks.

"Honestly, I love Tatsumi even now. My desire burns even hotter and more passionately now that he is no longer in arms reach. As for the Monk, he's a valuable asset and wise beyond his years. However, the lives of my subordinates take priority over all that. Bringing them in alive would be preferable, but if it comes down to you or them, there should be no doubt in your mind what you should do.", Esdeath replies passionately before standing up from her seat for the last part.

Ran and Phi nod and Seryu says, "We have no choice but to pas judgement on those who are drenched in sin!" Esdeath walks away from her chair to an open window while thinking, " _If you do get killed, it just means that you were too weak, right? But you aren't weak. You're a survivor, like me. You'll fight, you'll survive, you'll endure. It truly is a wonderful thing, Monk. I'll meet Tatsumi again, that I know from the bottom of my heart. And when we do meet again, I'll be more than prepared to do everything in my power to make him mine!_ "

* * *

Back at the Night Raid base, all of the assassins are gathered around in the meeting room as Sheele patches up Tatsumi's wounds, the boy somehow managing to recover before reaching the hide. As he lets out a sharp wince, Mine scolds the young assassin, saying, "Stop being such a big baby and hold still. You're lucky I'm not the one patching you up or I would've knocked you out again."

"Mine please, Tatsumi's been through enough. The last thing he needs right now is to be yelled at, let alone beaten anymore.", Sheele tells the young pink haired girl who only huffs in response before turning her attention back to the meeting. " _Tatsumi's wounds...I just started treating them and they've already started to heal... Minazuki didn't need me to patch him up, but Tatsumi was in a big fight with Wave, so he should have more wounds than this. I guess the Incursio armor might've healed them while he was fighting..?_ ", the kinder girl thinks as she continues to patch up Tatsumi's wounds. The purple haired girl turns her lighthearted gaze to Minazuki before mentioning, "You said they all are experienced Imperial Arms users, that could be a bigger problem than we first expected considering how many of them there are.", to which the boy simply nods.

"And for Kurome to be a member too...", Akame mumbles to herself as she interlocks her fingers, laying her cold hands gently in her lap.

Glancing over at the crimson eyed killer, Tatsumi notices the gloom in her eyes. "You're worried about Kurome? If you're that worried, then why didn't you both escape the Empire together?", Tatsumi asks the assassin, causing his kindhearted nurse to pull the wrappings around his waist tight, causing him to groan in pain before turning his gaze to Sheele.

With a slight glare, Sheele whispers to the ill-informed boy, "Akame's very sensitive when it comes to her sister. Please try not to bring it up too much."

The dusk colored girl surprises the duo however, waving off Tatsumi's ignorant questioning as she tell Sheele, "It's fine, I don't think I've told you this yet, so I might as well get it out of the way now, since we're going to be fighting Kurome now..." Looking down at her hands, Akame sees her intertwined fingers and tells her tale, saying, "When I became dissatisfied and wanted to defect, I tried my hardest to convince her, but she chose to stay. If you asked her, I'm sure she would consider me a traitor to the Empire and say that I deserve to die for that betrayal." As she tells this story yet again, Akame can't help but think of her little sister, remembering the kind, smiling girl she used to know. Unknowingly, Akame's hands begin to tremble as her grip tightens on her hands, locking each finger into place like a solid wall of stone. Akame swiftly snaps out of her gloom, shaking her head to empty the memories inside before turning to Tatsumi and asking, "Tatsumi, was she constantly eating something? Kurome I mean."

"Yeah, she had whole bag of sweets that she refused to share with anyone. She'd be snacking on one every time you look at her.", Tatsumi replies, recalling the bag of cookies the little girl hoarded for herself like a greedy child.

As she hears this, a slight smile comes across the sister's face as she thinks, " _She's at least eating, that's good..._ " "I see... Thank you for telling me.", Akame thanks the boy before returning to her usual silent self with her smile hidden from the others.

Seemingly out of nowhere, they hear Mine cock Pumpkin as she says, "Akame! I already told you this once, but I'll say it again, if your sister appears as an enemy, we have to hit her with everything we have. We should be prepared if we're going to be up against her."

Lubbock quickly pulls out the book of Imperial Arms they'd been keeping from underneath the table before asking Minazuki, "Can you give us some information about their Imperial Arms so we can add it to our notes?"

"Seryu's strength has been enhanced by weapons placed in her body, likely from Doctor Stylish and his Imperial Arm, Perfecter. Bols wields the Flame Thrower Imperial Arm, Rubicante. The winged Imperial Arm, Mastema, belongs to Ran. It's more of a support type than an offensive type Imperial Arm. Its Trump Card is literally used to fly away and retreat. Grand Chariot is another Armor type Imperial Arm, similar to Incursio, just without the ability to turn invisible and adapt.", Minazuki begins to explain, which earns him confused looks from everyone except Leone.

"How do you know all this exactly?", Lubbock asks, skepticism ringing throughout his questioning. In response Minazuki pulls Shoryu's journal out of his pocket and drops it down in front of Lubbock. Lubbock opens the journal only to find illegible writing and a few drawings inside and as the boy tilts and turns the book every way he can think of, he asks, "Dude, what the fuck am I even looking at!? I can see the drawings, but the hand writing is garbage!"

"It's Shoryu's journal. The text seems to be written in a language that only I can read.", Minazuki explains before Lubbock lazily tosses the book back on the table.

As the book skids across the table, it stops right in front of Tatsumi, who picks up the book. The bandaged boy flips a few pages and starts to read it off saying, "Mastema: Weapon Type: Winged Imperial Arm. Abilities: Allows the user to fly for a short amount of time. Though they are called the Winged Imperial Arm, they can not allow for sustained flight for longer than twenty minutes. Along with flight, the feathers from Mastema can be shot out of the wings as projectiles. These feathers are sharp enough to cut through average steel and can pierce through a man's skull with ease. Trump Card: Considering this Imperial Arm was originally made for recon purposes, its Trump Card doesn't surprise me in the least. When activated, Mastema will allow the user to take off to great heights and their speed will be increase to an incredible level, though only for a short period of time. After that period has elapsed, Mastema will overheat and won't be usable for at least another day."

"W-what!?", Lubbock asks as he looks to his brown haired friend in complete shock.

"You were able to read Shoryu's journal?", Minazuki questions the injured Tatsumi, rushing over to see that the boy read the entry perfectly, word for word. Tatsumi simply nods in response and Minazuki starts to contemplate what this might mean. " _Maybe it isn't linked to Quake itself. If it's not that, then what could it be?_ ", Minazuki starts to think to himself before he hears an eerie voice say something in an unrecognizable language. He turns around, expecting to see someone there, but the only people behind him are the other members of Night Raid.

"Minazuki? Are you alright? You kind of flinched at nothing.", Mine says as she looks around, trying to find what the newcomer was looking at.

"I could have sworn I just heard a voice.", Minazuki says as he looks around for the source of the voice.

"Yeah, me! I said something!", Mine growls back at the boy, furious with him for ignoring her question.

"No, it was someone else. I haven't heard this voice before.", Minazuki says as he closes his eyes trying to sense anyone nearby, but nobody but the rest of Night Raid are here.

"So, Akame, what kind of Imperial Arm does your sister use?", Tatsumi says trying to change the subject.

"March of the Dead, Yatsuhusa. Those cut down by that blade, their corpses are turned into puppets while also retaining all the skills and abilities they had while they were alive. The user can freely manipulate the puppets to do anything she pleases. She can even rescind her ability and turn the puppet back into a corpse.", Akame explains coldly.

Tatsumi begins to panic before shouting, "That means that if she kills you, you get a fate worse than death! You get turned into a mindless husk to serve their evil purposes, right!?"

Leone giggles at him before saying, "But since you'll be dead, you won't even know about it."

"Murasame is pretty scary, but Yatsuhusa is just as frightening.", Mine says with a worried look on her face.

"I seriously don't want that kind of death. Anyways, do you know anything about Perfector or whatever that Phi girl had, Minazuki?", Lubbock says before turning to Minazuki, who's still looking for the source of that voice.

"Stylish's Perfector is a powerful support Imperial Arm, but lacks any offensive capabilities. Though, I believe the Doctor has his own personal army, based on what I saw back at that bandit camp. It improves the both speed and precision of the user's fingers, increasing their abilities least a hundred times. It could be considered to be one of the best support Imperial Arms, but that's all it really has going for it. It lacks any real Trump Card. As for Phi, I never saw her Imperial Arm, so I can't say what it is or what abilities it may hold.", Minazuki explains with his eyes still shut. He hears the voice again, but this time it sounds as if it's mocking him. Minazuki lets loose his pent up murderous intent through the room, causing everyone to reel back a bit at the sight of it. "This damn voice, where's it coming from!?", Minazuki says to himself as his rage starts to take over.

He's suddenly enveloped in a giant hug from Leone who says, "Don't worry, your partner is here to protect you! It doesn't matter where that voice is coming from, as long as we're all here, they don't stand a chance against us! Now let's just relax and celebrate being together again!"

"I'm just happy that I can finally help.", Tatsumi says, slightly depressed.

"So, what do you think of the person herself after seeing her in person?", Mine asks coldly.

"Esdeath? She's on a whole new level I never imagined existed, but she was actually really kind to me. Like, she actually believed that we could be together or something.", Tatsumi replies with a concerned look.

"Minazuki, does that book say anything about the limitations of Esdeath's Imperial Arm?", Mine asks forcefully.

"No, the only notes that it says about limitations are that the limits are set by the user's skill level and that the ice doesn't form from nothing, it forms from moisture in the air. So, if you took her out into the desert, we'd be set.", Minazuki replies.

"She might be one of the Empire's strongest, but she has one weakness that we all know.", Akame says coldly.

"And that is..?", Sheele asks with a confused look on her face.

"Tatsumi?", Leone asks as she points to Tatsumi.

Akame shakes her head no as she rises to her feet and says, "She's alive, and has a beating heart. With that, I know that Murasame will be able to eliminate her! One cut is all I need to take down the fabled strongest General in the Empire!"

"That's our Trump Card for ya. Just what you'd expect.", Lubbock says with a grin on his face.

"That's not even a threat, it's a promise.", Sheele says with a smile.

"That's the honor student, but instead of just saying it, why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Akame?", Mine says smugly.

Leone plops down on the couch, forcing Minazuki to sit by her side as she continues to hold him close, while saying, "Ending it like that sounds so anti-climactic, but, well, if it gets the job done, who am I to argue, right?"

Tatsumi lets out a sigh and says, "Back to the topic at hand, I think the Jaeger members just about match us in ability. So as it stands now, we're at a bit of a disadvantage in regards to number of members."

"If we had to go up against them as we are right now, we'd be in serious trouble. I don't think it's just our fighting spirit or heart either. We all just need to keep getting stronger, or else.", Tatsumi says in a more serious tone.

Leone waves her hand dismissively before saying, "We can worry about that later! For now, let's just party! We got both of you guys back and nothing bad happened! We even got information on the Jaegers in the process! We won!"

Minazuki couldn't help but smile at her positive attitude, and decided to ignore the voice for the moment just so he could enjoy himself for a short period of time.

* * *

Only a few hundred feet away, Doctor Stylish and three of his test subjects are walking closer and closer to the base. "There are still traces of their scent here, even though they went to such great lengths to try to erase it. But no matter how well they try, the smell can't be completely erased. And I can track that scent using my enhanced sense of smell you blessed me with, Doctor Stylish~", the freak with the beak like nose says to the Doctor.

"Thank you, Hana. This the first time you all are being tested in the field, but you're all surpassing my expectations!", Doctor Stylish replies.

"There seems to be a barrier made of thread just ahead of us. Please follow my exact movements to avoid the strands.", the large muscular one says with his giant eyes always open.

"Well done, Me.", Doctor Stylish says to him with a pat on the back.

"I'm hearing some faint voices up ahead of us. It sounds like someone's having a party.", the short girl with large bat like ears says.

"Wonderful job, Mimi!", the Doctor adds with a smile. "I knew that brat was too suspicious from the very start. And that Monk, who does he think he is, calling me out like that? They both adapted to the situation much better than any ordinary person would've. You can't fool me that easily.", the stylish man explains as he puts his face in one hand and his elbow in the other.

"You're a genius, Doctor Stylish! You figured them out so easily, well done!", the big nosed freak complements his master as he holds his face, blushing at the sight of Stylish's perfection.

Me agrees with Hana, giving his fellow test subject a quick nod before adding, "That's to be expected of the great Doctor Stylish, you should expect nothing but the best of the best from him."

"And to think someone so smart and stylish is our master, this is just divine!", Mimi happily adds as she blushes at the Doctor's gaze when it falls upon them.

The Doctor's gaze quickly shifts to a glare though as he grits his teeth and growls at them, saying, "Would you ass kissers shut it already? I've just made a giant discovery and you three are making the moment so unstylish for me..." When they hear this, the trio quickly silence themselves, covering their mouths to make sure not even a single word escapes their lips.

Rolling his eyes at this, Stylish turns his attention away from the test subjects to look at a giant building built into the side of the mountain in the distance. The great Doctor stops dead in his tracks to look up at it before saying, "Bingo!", as he points up at Night Raid's home. With his blood starting to burn with pride, Stylish grins up at his new discovery as he says, "My intuition is never wrong~ Though it's a long way from Fake Mountain, here it is! Night Raid's hideout! I. Found. You~"


	13. The Intruders

It's late at night and Night Raid is still up partying over Tatsumi's and Minazuki's safe return. Leone chugs another jug of beer and when she comes up for air she says, "Ahhh, it never matters what time it is, beer always hits the spot! I'm so happy you guys are back now! Lubbock was getting too high and mighty, thinking he was special for being the only guy in the house!"

Drowning his sorrow in a jug of ale, Lubbock downs his drink in one go before wiping his face and saying, "I still can't believe that THE GENERAL ESDEATH fell in love with Tatsumi... Even a lady killer has to have his limits! Someone throw me a bone here!", as he slams his cup down on the coffee table in front of him.

"She has such bad taste too, like, look. What's good about that thing?", Mine notes as she glares over at Tatsumi, taking a sip from her drink as her gaze burns its mark into the boy's forehead.

"Thing?", Tatsumi growls back at the sniper, slightly hurt by what she just said.

"Don't worry Tatsumi, *hic* I'm sure Genera-*hic* General Esdeath likes you for some reason, right?", Sheele tells the boy with her cheeks completely flushed, clearly drunk off her ass.

"Sheele, you need to slow down! If you don't we'll run out of booze before midnight!", Leone jokingly jabs at the purple haired girl as she pinches Sheele's cheeks before she can muster the strength to break away from the blonde's cold grip.

"Just imagine if Tatsumi actually convinced Esdeath to join the Revolutionary Army, or better yet, join Night Raid? How awkward would that be for the Boss?", Sheele notes before chugging another jug of ale.

A cold chill shoots up the boy's spine as Tatsumi thinks of the Icy General joining Night Raid and having to deal with her constant harassment on a daily basis.

"It would make our jobs a lot easier.", Akame adds to the conversation as she stuffs her face with various meats. She turns to Tatsumi and tries to feed him one while, with her mouth full, saying, "Tatsumi, you need to eat more. Trust me, you'll get stronger that way."

" _Just how much can those sisters eat anyways!?_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he watches Akame down five more snacks all at once.

"I wonder if Lub would still be willing to peep on us bathing if Esdeath were here? What do ya say, Lub? Would it be worth losing a nut over?", Leone mocks the green haired perv as she downs another drink. As she chugs her drink like a pro, the blonde looks over at her partner, who seems to be lost in thought, and asks, "Hey partner, what's up? You haven't even touched your drink."

The silent monk takes off his mask and lays it on the table before letting out a long sigh. "It's that girl, Phi. I know, well, knew her.", Minazuki admits as he rubs his face through his exhaustion.

His partner only raises an eyebrow at this before asking him, "How do you even know her?"

"We used to live in the same village. Growing up, we were actually rivals. I'd get stronger, then she'd match my strength, so I'd go beyond, which made her want to get stronger, and it kind of went along those lines for years.", Minazuki explains as he tries to looks down at his drink, seeing his saddened expression in the still drink.

"What happened?", Akame mumbles, her mouth still holding a few snacks as she questions the newbie.

"I bet she dumped him or something. That's probably why he became a 'monk.'", Mine mocks with a cheeky grin on her face as she slams her cup on the table, signalling Tatsumi to pour her another.

"No, not like that. I think, I'd rather not talk about it. It'd only bring down the party after all.", Minazuki replies with a forced smile as Tatsumi pours the skilled sniper another beverage. With the memories of that night rushing back into his mind, his hands begin to slightly tremble, causing everyone to see through his fake smile.

Wrapping the boy in a slight headlock with one arm, Leone pulls her partner close as she says, "It's alright, we're family now, right? You can tell us anything."

"Yeah, you don't have to fear judgement from us.", Sheele kindly adds as she looks to Minazuki with a drunk smile.

Minazuki lets out a heavy sigh, seeing no way out of this conversation, and says, "Fine, I'll tell you."

As Leone releases him from her grasp, Minazuki sits up straight with his back pressed against the cushion behind him as he takes a deep breath to calm himself. When he finally lets it all out, his racing heart starts to calm and he thinks, " _I can do this. I can do this..._ "

"Phi and I lived in a small little village. Due to the current state of the Empire and the Village Elder being a stubborn old man, the people of our village refused to pay the Emperor's high taxes. This ultimately lead to them sending out soldiers to collect the money, but they were never able to get even close to the village because my teacher always defeated them before they could enter the village.", Minazuki starts to explain, catching everyone's attention. "When I received this Imperial Arm, the Village Elder told me that the village would be turned into a river of blood if I didn't stop the events to come... He said I had a month to train before the end came, so my teacher taught me all he knew about the world; fighting, lying, killing, surviving, even cooking... But when that day came, I wasn't ready for what I had to do.", Minazuki continues, pausing each time he finished a sentence to remember the old man and his teacher. As he finishes the beginning of his story, Minazuki pauses again as the faces of all the people who lived with him in Tapu Village fill his mind, the people who he betrayed.

"So, what happened then?", Lubbock asks.

"The village elder and my teacher knew that I couldn't face the threat that was coming to our village, and that even with all our might combined, we'd all die in just a blink of an eye. So, they had a backup plan. A plan to spare our village from being ravaged by the incoming threat the elder predicted.", Minazuki says before covering his face with his hand.

"W-what was it?", Mine asks nervously, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Feeling his rage start to boil from within like a erupting volcano, Minazuki tries to calm himself with more deep breathing, taking one long breath before releasing it until his mind clears.

As the boy calms himself, his friends watch on in both confusion and concern, but they slowly fade as they notice his collected aura. "I was given the order, to bury my village and all its inhabitants, alive.", Minazuki replies as he takes his hand away from his face, revealing his distraught scowl as he remembers all of the people he left to die in his village.

As they all hear this, the tension in the room thicken to the point where not even Akame could cut through it so easily with her deadly blade.

"W-what do you mean!? Did you-", a panicked Tatsumi begins to ask before Minazuki bluntly answers with, "Yes."

"You could've fought! You could have made a stand against them and died like that! Why did you-", Tatsumi begins to challenge Minazuki at the top of his lungs as he rises up from his seat, but gets the chance to lay into the boy, Minazuki adds, "It was that same night you heard me talking to Esdeath about. That night, she was on her way to crush my village and make an example of every last person there. And you remember how the northern tribes turned out, don't you?"

The room suddenly falls silent, not a word needed to be said at this point as Tatsumi returned to his seat in despair.

"Seventy three...", Minazuki mutters, killing the silence and peeking everyone's curiosity. As he looks up to see everyone looking to him for an explanation, the boy further explains his tale, saying, "Seventy three people lived in that village. All of them trusted me. All of them believed that I'd help protect them from the Empire... And I failed them, all of them."

Though he seems to be holding himself together quite well, Minazuki looks down at his hands to see he's still trembling. "Every one of their deaths are on my hands. It's weird to say like this, but...I'm getting used to it. Before, I couldn't even come to terms with what I did, I blamed everything else; fate, reality, Esdeath...but now I know, it was all my fault."

Minazuki glances back up to see his teammates' baffled expression before letting out a slight chuckle and adding to the story, saying, "You know what the worst part of that night was, not only did the old man and my teacher plan a party to distract everyone that night, but Phi...she told me she loved me. She actually loved me..! And not even a couple hours after she confessed to me, I tried to bury her alive..."

"Minazuki...", Leone gently calls out to him as she looks to him with a worried glance, but he just chuckles at her concern.

With a slight smile aimed at the blonde, Minazuki raises his somewhat trembling hand to her as he says, "I'll be fine. I guess you don't really get used to this whole being a killer thing too quickly, huh?"

Before the boy can defend himself any further, Leone uses her long arms to grab Minazuki by his shirt and pull him into her arms, wrapping him in a caring embrace. As she runs her gentle fingers through his ruffled brown hair, Leone holds the boy close to her chest and tells him, "You did what you had to do."

When he hears his partner's understanding response, he glances up to her with his widened eyes to see her looking down at him with a kind smile. "We all know what it's like to kill people, to be murderers...but what you did...that wasn't murder, that was mercy. You saved them.", Leone reminds the boy as she continues to warm his body and heart with her own.

"Yeah, at least they weren't tortured by Esdeath. That's a fate worse than death, right?", Lubbock nervously adds, trying to help shatter the tension in the air.

"But now, Phi is our enemy. She's not some pushover, she's strong. The same teacher I had taught her everything he taught me and if she has an Imperial Arm now...who knows what power she holds?", Minazuki sheepishly notes as he remembers the green-haired girls kind smile on that fateful night under the moon.

"It'll be alright. We're here for ya, partner.", Leone says with a wink, causing him to reply with a slight smile. Seeing her plan's working, the lioness grabs the boy's drink off the table and puts it in his hands before saying, "Now, come on, drink up! It's a party after all!"

Minazuki just chuckles at her response, thinking, " _She's always looking for a reason to drink, isn't she? Well, this isn't going to drink itself._ ", before downing the whole jug.

"Wew! Now we're talkin! Tatsumi, be a doll and get us some more drinks, would ya?", Leone cheers as she waves her empty jug in Tatsumi's face. The young boy happily takes it along with both Lubbock's and Minazuki's before heading to the kitchen to refill them.

" _Night Raid, I guess you guys really are my family now._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he looks around the room and sees the faces of everyone that he considers his family. " _I won't lose them! I'll do everything in my power to keep this family I hold so dear to me!_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself, with this new found purpose filling his heart.

* * *

Dazed, Minazuki opens his eyes to see he's standing over a cliff. He looks around and asks himself, "Where am I? What is this place?" He notices there's nothing around but darkness and shadows cast by an ominous light above him that seems to have no source. He looks at himself to see that he's wearing the same clothes as he was last night, but his Imperial Arm is gone!

"Again!? Where did they go!?", Minazuki says as he continues to try to figure out where he is. He tries to walk away from the cliff, but as he walks it feels as if he isn't going anywhere, as if he's just walking in place. " _Strange, this is kind of like that time before. Am I back in my heart or something? How do I get out of here?_ ", Minazuki ponders before he hears the voice from last night again.

He still can't understand what it's saying, but the boy can tell it's from behind him. He turns around and sees a large pair of eyes looking down at him through the darkness. The eyes are dark brown and seem to have an strange glow to them with the pupils being shaped like large Xs. The voice roars out at him, but Minazuki still can't understand what it's saying.

"What are you!? What do you want from me!?", Minazuki shouts back at the source of the voice, seeking an answer from the darkness.

The voice seems to repeat itself, but this time louder and in a harsher tone than before.

"I don't understand what you're saying!", Minazuki shouts back at the roaring shadow in frustration.

He hears the voice let out what sounds like a loud sigh before seeing a giant claw cover half its obscured face. It says something in a more irritated tone before glaring back at Minazuki. "Mortal! Do you understand me now!?", the voice shouts with each word filled with rage.

"Yes, I can... What are you and what do you want!?", Minazuki replies as he takes a step away from the creature hidden in the darkness of his heart.

"You are as troublesome as my last owner. How irritating. You're speaking to a GOD! Show some respect!", the voice shouts as its claw moves from its face and slams down on the ground forcefully.

"A god?", Minazuki asks as his eyes widen in both fear and disbelief.

"I am the Ancient Earth Dragon. The being used to make the Imperial Arm you know as Quake.", the voice explains as it steps out from the darkness and into the light. As the light shines down upon it, Minazuki sees a dragonic figure covered in hardened brown scales with small horns jetting out from the back of its head like stalagmites. The dragon stands tall and proud, seeming taller than the average building. And with it's long neck, it looks down at the boy with its head raised high, its nose stuck up in the air as its piercing glare burns into the boy's very soul. With each step the divine beast makes, the earth itself seems to tremble under its four feet as its tail sways with its movement. "Do you understand now, mortal?", the dragon arrogantly asks as its entire body shines under the light, its powerful roar seeming to echo through the world like thunder.

Minazuki simply nods in response to the divine beast's wrath and to his surprise, the dragon chuckles.

"To think, such a young boy could wield my power.", the dragon says as he looks down at Minazuki with a confused look.

"You mentioned your previous owner. Was that Shoryu?", Minazuki questions the beast as he takes a step towards it, no longer fearing the dragon entirely.

The dragon gives the boy a nod and answers the question with, "Yes, he was a strong and noble man." The dragon growls before shouting, "This language, it annoys me. The fact that you do not understand the dragon tongue, but can read it clear as day thanks to the soul link is pathetic at best."

"Soul link?", Minazuki asks with a confused look.

"It's the link between Imperial Arms and their users. Without that proper link, the user won't be able to use the weapon's true power.", the dragon explains in an irritated tone, as Minazuki should already know this. "You mortals are all ignorant to the power that Imperial Arms wield. It's disappointing.", the dragon says with a growl as he starts to circle Minazuki like prey. "Within every Imperial Arm is a powerful danger beast spirit trying to unleash its full power onto the world, and you squander it all for what? Petty assassinations, taking down simple cavemen, fighting one another, do you even comprehend the power that you could have?", the dragon starts ranting as he continues to circle Minazuki.

"W-why are you telling me all this?", Minazuki asks the beast. The dragon stops its circling and lowers its head down to Minazuki's level to make perfect eye contact with him.

As it glares into Minazuki's soul, the dragon growls, "Because, even though I dislike having someone of your caliber use me, I'm stuck with you. Though, I guess I should be grateful. I could've got the downgrade Tyrant received. At least you have some decent training and intelligence...for a mortal."

As the ground trembles under their feet, the dragon looks up to the sky above them. "It seems our talk must be cut short, mortal. Go now, we will speak again when the time comes.", the dragon roars as wings made of shining crystals jet out from its back and it takes flight.

"Wait, what do I call you?", Minazuki asks as the beast takes to the skies, leaving Minazuki behind in this strange world.

The dragon growls back at the boy, replying with, "I am Split the Earth in Two, Quake! Until we meet again, mortal!"

As the ominous light begins to fade away with the fleeting dragon, everything turns to black until Minazuki can't even see his own hands in front of his face.

* * *

Almost as if he sprung back to life, Minazuki gasps for air, but as he opens his eyes he can't see anything and he can barely breathe. " _Can't...breathe..._ ", the panicked boy begins to think as he feels something on top of him, like a large, heavy pillow.

With a slight boost from his Imperial Arm, Minazuki manages to lift the weight up and as he does so he sees it's Leone, who was sleeping on top of him, almost suffocating him with her breasts in the process. He looks around to see that Lubbock and Tatsumi also decided to sleep in the living room after the party.

He goes to say something, but gets interrupted when he hears his partner let out a tired yawn. Minazuki looks back to Leone and sees the lioness start to awaken from her slumber. She stretches her arms out to the roof before starting to slowly open her eyes. Rubbing her eyes, Leone focuses her fuzzy vision before finally realizing that she's being held up in the air by Minazuki, with his hands on her hips. "Minazuki, what are you doing?", she lazily asks her partner, still trying to wake up from her long night.

"I woke up and you were laying on top of me.", he bluntly replies, causing her to give him a sleazy grin.

"You know you liked it~", she replies mockingly as she points down at him.

Minazuki gently sits the woman down on one side of the couch as he sits up on the other, freeing himself from Leon's busty prison. As he rubs his face, he pulls his hand back and thinks, " _What the...why's my face sticky?_ " "Leone, what ha-", he begins to ask his partner before she leans in toward his face and sniffs him.

After giving the boy's cheeky a quick lick, Leone lets out a quick chuckle before saying, "I knew I recognized that smell. Looks like you got some beer on you, partner~"

As the boy glances over to the lioness' chest and sees that her bra has a giant stain on it before pointing at it and saying, "If I had to guess, you probably spilled it. It's written all over your chest."

The blonde raises an eyebrow at his accusation before looking down at herself and as a defeated sigh escapes her lips, she groans, "Damn it, I'm always a mess when I'm drunk. I need to wash myself a little."

After pulling himself up from the stained couch, Minazuki starts heading toward the indoor hotspring while saying, "If you want to follow, we're heading to the same place."

The duo heads to the small indoor hotspring and they both kneel down to splash themselves with water and wash away the alcohol they're covered in.

As he's splashing his face with water, Minazuki feels slight vibrations from under his feet. " _What the hell? Did Lubbock put fish in the hotspring or something?_ ", Minazuki mentally questions himself as he closes his eyes to find the stealthy aquatic animals. But when he searches through the water for any signs of fist, he doesn't find any, instead he finds a human shaped figure lurking at the bottom of the hotspring. Through his sixth sense, he sees what looks like a man with gills along his neck and a dagger in his hand at the bottom of the warm water, lurking in wait for the two to lower their guard.

" _A trap? I guess they didn't anticipate Quake._ ", the boy thinks before quickly reaching his hands down into the depth of the waters. As he grabs the man's neck, he thinks, " _Now I've got you!_ ", before squeezing down as tight as he can. As his hands clamp down on the failed assassin's throat, clenching down like a vise, bubbles start to surface from the water's depths.

Glancing over to her partner and seeing the bubbles in the water, Leone's sight sharpens into a piercing glare as she growls, "We've been infiltrated!"

Minazuki lifts the person out of the water to see it's a man with stitches all over his body, wearing nothing but a pair of pants and a hat. "How did you-", the man says before Minazuki snaps his neck and throws the man's corpse to the ground.

"We need to wake the others!", Leone shouts as she goes to leave the hotsprings, but Minazuki stops her, grabbing her by the hand as he says, "We've got to deal with this guy first."

Suddenly, a man appears in the doorway leading back to the living room. "Good senses, Night Raid. You must be-", the man begins to say before Minazuki launches his attack by sending nearby rocks hurdling toward him. The man elegantly dodges the attack before saying, "My my, you do lack manors, don't y-", but before he can finish, Leone transforms into her beast mode and tries to punch the man, and yet again he dodges. "My name is Yushiaki! And I'm here to eliminate you, Night Raid!", the man says with a bow as his cloak is thrown away to reveal his light green tights and unbuttoned vest. He has a shield attached to his left gauntlet, but it seems as if he isn't wielding any weapons.

Minazuki glares at the shield, knowing what it might be before saying, "That's your Imperial Arm, isn't it?"

The man laughs and says, "Yes, this is my precious little Aegis! It will protect me from even the strongest of attacks!"

Leone rushes in to land a surprise attack, but Yushiaki blocks her attack with his Imperial Arm, causing it to start to glow with an ominous light.

Minazuki recalls an entry in Shoryu's journal about a shield named Aegis, it was known as The Reflector Shield, Aegis. " _Its power is to reflect damage!_ ", Minazuki thinks before setting up a stone wall between Leone and Yushiaki.

Yushiaki is too late, and as he activates his ability, the wall takes the blunt of the attack, only cracking it a bit from the impact. "Ah, so you figured out my Imperial Arm so soon. Well, color me impressed.", Yushiaki cheekily notes with an evil grin. "But now, I think I'll activate my Trump Ca-", the shield master shouts as he lifts his shield into the air before being cut off by Minazuki trapping him inside a stone dome.

"You're too loud, just die.", Minazuki says coldly as he holds his head, still feeling the after effects of last night's party. "Stone Maiden!", Minazuki shouts as spears jet out from the dome's inner wall.

They hear Yushiaki scream out, "This won't kill m-", before the sound of his skull being shattered cuts him off.

"Damn, I didn't know you could do that, partner.", Leone says with an intrigued look.

"It only works if they're dumb enough to fall for it or try not to escape. It wouldn't even hold Esdeath for a moment.", Minazuki says before heading toward the living room. He senses that both Lubbock and Tatsumi are gone, but there isn't any blood left behind. " _They likely sensed the danger too. They'll be alright, they're strong._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he tries to sense where everyone else might be in the house.

"We need to find Mine and the others. Akame can probably handle whatever these guys throw at her, but I bet Mine and Sheele have some nasty hangovers from last night.", Leone says as she grabs his shoulder. Minazuki simply nods before they both rush upstairs to check on Mine and Sheele.

* * *

When the killers finally make their way upstairs, they find Mine and Sheele in their respective nightgowns fighting a hoard of what appear to be super humans. Mine is wearing a mid-length white gown that reaches down past her thighs with short sleeves and a pink bow sewn into chest area. Sheele however is wearing a longer, silver gown made of silk that seems to perfectly squeeze at her figure.

"These guys just keep coming! And my headache won't stop, it's messing up my shots!", Mine shouts before shooting down four of the soldiers in quick succession, each shot hitting the mindless drones directly in their faces and blowing their heads clean off their shoulders.

As a small group of murderers tries to flank the pink sniper, Sheele blocks their path and cuts through them as she says, "You need to stay calm Mine. If you let your emotions get the better of you, you might not make it through the night.", before grabbing her head and wincing in pain as her hangover starts to kick in too.

"You two are a bunch of light weights!", Leone mocks the girls as she charges into the fray, taking down five more soldiers as she leaps over the hungover duo and slashes the assailants in half with her razor sharp claws.

"Leone? Minazuki?", Mine questions as she looks to her comrades, still somewhat in a daze.

"It seems we've been infiltrated. Be on your guard, we've already had to fight one Imperial Arms user.", Minazuki warns the two as he takes out the last of the hoard by stabbing them through their skulls and vital organs with spears that he sent out from the walls, ceiling and floor.

"This place is like your own personal death trap, isn't it?", Mine questions the boy with fear in her eyes after seeing what he just did.

"Makes you wonder if Leone bringing him here in the beginning was really a good idea.", Sheele adds with a just as frightened look on her face as her partner.

"You two just shut up and move it! We need to deal with whoever's sending these guys at us!", Leone shouts in frustration as she follows Minazuki back over to the girls, backing up to each other to cover each other's blind spots.

As they wait for more enemies to work their way out of the woodwork, they hear a loud explosion come from downstairs and when they look they see that it took out one of the walls to the base and Tatsumi rushing in head first to take on the enemy outside with Incursio's armor equipped.

"That idiot! He's gonna get himself killed!", Mine growls before fixing her hairband and rushing downstairs to help.

"Mine, wait! Don't go by yourself!", Sheele shouts, placing Ecstasy on her back as she runs down the hallway after her partner.

Leone and Minazuki try to follow after them, but their path is quickly blocked by more soldiers that drop down from a hole in the ceiling that they just busted in through. "More of these guys? Don't you ever learn!?", Leone shouts as they both charge at the enemy. Leone starts beating them down, crushing their skulls just to be sure they're really dead, while Minazuki uses the hideout as his own personal playtoy, sending spears coming at them from every possible angle they could think of, piercing their brains and other vital organs.

"Damn, you guys must actually be the REAL Night Raid.", an ominous voice says from the shadows. They turn around to see a large muscular man wearing what seems to be a white one piece suit with matching boots, and metal hands. His hair is short and black and on his upper lip is a fully grown mustache of the same color.

"I am Kaksan, the strongest man-", he begins to boast before Minazuki attempts to stab him through with spears coming at him from every angle. The man smashes through the spears with his mechanical fists and says, "That was rude. I was in the middle of introducing myself. You assassins need to learn some respect!"

Minazuki looks the man over, he's tough, but he lacks any form of weapon or Imperial Arm. "Even if you're as strong as you boast to be, you don't stand a chance against two Imperial Arms. You should surrender.", Minazuki suggests as he takes a step towards the man with his murderous intent showing around his shorter figure.

Kaksan laughs in response to the shorter boy's attempt to intimidate him only responding with, "I don't need an Imperial Arm to take you two down! I can do it all with my bare hands!" Like a bolt of lightning, Kaksan blasts his way towards Minazuki, ready to strike Minazuki down.

As the brute pulls his right fist back, Minazuki quickly thinks, " _His attacks are easy to read. This shouldn't take long._ ", before preparing to counter with a punch of his own.

" _He's attacking from the other way. Eliminate him._ ", Minazuki hears Quake scold him with its voice ringing with the beast's power.

Minazuki turns to see what the God meant and as if time has started to slow down, the boy watches as steam seems to erupt from Kaksan's ankle and the behemoth's entire body rotates on that single point, causing the attack to come from a direction. Thanks to the warning, Minazuki manages to catch the attack with his left hand before pulling back his right, balling his hand into a fist as he prepares to strike with all his might. Much to Minazuki's own confusion, his pulled back fist starts to glow with a brownish aura and as he slams the gauntlet into Kaksan's face his head goes flying off his body, leaving his body behind. Headless and gushing blood from his wound, the brute's body falls to the floor while his head splatters against the wall like a rotten tomato.

"Holy shit Minazuki, you knocked his head clean off. ", Leone notes with a slightly impressed look on her face as the boy looks to his bloodied gauntlet with a blank expression.

As he looks down at the gem in the gauntlet, he hears Quake chuckle before informing him, " _That wasn't even a fraction of my power, Mortal. This power that you hold so dear, it isn't yours, it's mine! And if you need my assistance, merely call for it and I might consider granting you my aid._ "

"Let's just go help Tatsumi. If he's rushing head first into the enemy, we should probably do something about it.", Minazuki growls back at the blonde as he starts heading for the first floor.

As the two rush down the stairs, they pass through the living room on their way outside and as he passes the couch, Minazuki grabs his mask, equipping the mask as they rush through the open door leading outside.

* * *

Once they get outside, they see Mine, Sheele and Tatsumi standing over an Imperial Arm laying in a pile of ashes.

"I guess we got here too late. Did we miss all the action?", Leone asks the group with a slight chuckle as she makes her way over to the group with her partner.

When they get closer, the Imperial Arm seems like a giant ninja star attached to a chain. They suddenly are covered by a giant shadow and Tatsumi asks, "What? A shadow? But there weren't any clouds a second ago." The group looks up to the stars to see a giant Air Manta flying through the air, blocking the moon for just a moment.

"Wait, let me get a better look.", Mine says as she pulls out her scouting lens from a hidden compartment under Pumpkin's side panel. After equipping the device, Mine closes one eye and looks through the lens right at the Air Manta before shouting, "It's the Boss! And she brought reinforcements!"

"Great timing, just like our Boss.", Leone notes with a cheeky grin on her face as she looks up to their fearless leader as she rides upon the majestic beast high up in the air.

"It's so unfair! She makes an appearance riding on something that cool!? I wanna ride it now!", Tatsumi shouts, stomping his foot as he points up at the Manta like a small child.

Mine only glares over at the boy as he throws his tantrum before letting out a light sigh and groaning, "You're such a kid. No wonder you were taking so long to deal with that guy."

Suddenly, Minazuki senses an enemy coming at him from behind before a woman dressed in a uniform similar to the other soldiers, wielding a giant anchor like weapon, jump out of the nearby bushes. "Die, Night Raid!", the woman shouts, but before she can land a hit on the boy, Akame comes to the rescue jumping down from a nearby tree in her nightgowns and slicing through the woman's neck, killing her in one hit and saving Minazuki.

"An Anchor Type Imperial Arm? I think I've seen that one in Shoryu's journal.", Minazuki notes as he looks down at the weapon in the dead woman's hand.

"Where did Stylish get so many Imperial Arms users? That's what, three if you include the Doctor himself?", Tatsumi growls as he sees the woman's Imperial Arm.

"Four, Minazuki and I dealt with one in the base when we first realized we were under attack.", Leone corrects the armored boy, holding up three finger and raising a fourth as she corrects him.

"Well, at least they're all dead now, right?", Lubbock chuckles as he walks over to Akame's side from out of the bushes. Squatting down to get a better look, Lubbock pokes the dead woman's face just to be sure she's dead before thinking, " _Man, she's actually pretty cute too. Why can't we get more pretty girls to join our team?_ "

"Lub, stop being a weirdo and get over here. We need to find where these guys are being controlled from.", Mine mocks the boy as she motions for Lubbock to come over to his team's side.

Lubbock does as she asks, but cautiously looks around before asking, "Hey, do you all feel that?"

Before any of them can react, the group of assassins is surrounded by a large hoard of soldiers who seemingly appear out of nowhere.

Minazuki growls under his breath before saying, "They just never end, do they?"

"These have to be the last of them, I think.", Lubbock notes again, not quite sure if there are really anymore left or not.

"There's no scent of anyone else nearby, so I'm guessing these are the leftovers.", Leone says as everyone backs up into a little circle, watching each other's backs.

"Since we aren't seeing any giant ice attacks or Seryu's artillery, it's probably just Doctor Stylish by himself. If it's just him, we can easily take him down.", Tatsumi courageously adds as the group cautiously waits for the enemy to make the first move.

"Now that we're all here, we have a massive advantage, even if they outnumber us.", Akame says as she lightly places her hand on the handle of her blade.

Without any warning, everyone except for Minazuki and Tatsumi go down, falling to their knees or just straight up passing out.

"What!?", Minazuki growls as he turns to see the others fall to the ground.

"What's wrong!? Guys!?", Tatsumi shouts, thrown into a panic due to the sudden cut in their numbers.

"S-suddenly, my body... won't...move!", Mine growls as she desperately tries to move just her hands, but can't.

With his memories of the bandit chief and his Imperial Arm rushing trough his mind, Minazuki reaches for his mask. "So it's a Poison. I understand.", Minazuki says as he looks around at the enemies surrounding them, seeing the assailants slowly drawing closer and closer.

Leone and Akame aren't done yet though and force themselves on their feet, trying to assist in the fight while Lubbock lays there unconscious, Mine lays on her side unable to move and Sheele can't even seem to speak.

Even Minazuki starts to feel the effects of the poison, his vision beginning to blur and his hands and feet starting to feel numb. Though his vision and body might be failing him, Minazuki's quick wit saves him as he thinks, _"If my muscles won't respond_.. _I'm done for_."

" _Ignorant mortal, why do you continue to squander my power? Must I help you with everything?_ ", Quake scolds the boy from his own mind before the sand in Minazuki's jacket starts to pour out into the boy's clothes, wrapping around his body like another layer of skin. " _Though you aren't immune to this attack like that boy over there with Tyrant, you are not by any means helpless._ _If your muscles won't allow you to move, you need to make another way to move. You need to stop thinking so lightly of my power as just a weapon and more of a tool with infinite potential, Mortal._ ", the God continues to rant as Minazuki manages to use the sand to take a few steps towards the enemy, stepping forward as Tatsumi does the same.

" _With this...I can at least move through it. I can protect them..._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he sends sand slashing through the enemy hoard. Though the sand manages to cut through a few enemies, Minazuki only growls under his breath before thinking, " _It's no good, I can't focus... At this rate-_ "

Before the boy can finish his thought, something crashes down from the sky on top of one of the enemies, killing them instantly. It seems to be a warrior with short blue hair and horns coming out of his head. He used his giant blunt weapon, which Minazuki doesn't seem to recognize, to crush the enemy's skull who he landed on top of just a second ago.

"An ally.", Leone says as she stumbles a bit from the effects of the poison.

They suddenly hear Najenda shout out her orders from above, "Now, exterminate the enemies before you, Susanoo!"

The man looks up to her with a cold glance and mutters, "Understood.", before turning his attention back to the enemy hoard. As the man tightens his grasp on his weapon, blades suddenly jet out from the weapon's end before starting to rotate at an amazing speed. He swings the weapon at the hoard and cuts them down with little effort before crushing one that tries to ambush him with a single punch. He continues to mow down the enemy hoard like they were just blades of grass, only stopping once all were eliminated as Najenda ordered.

"Where did Najenda get this guy!? He's so strong!", Tatsumi shouts in amazement as he sees the man's gardening work from the sidelines.

Seconds later, the corpses of the enemy hoard that the man just eliminated start to glow with an eerie light. Without any time to react, the corpses explode, each with the force of a small bomb.

" _There's no way...he lived through that..._ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as his eyes widen in horror, seeing the smoke and dust as it fills the air.

When the smoke and dust finally clear, they all see the man is missing chunks out of his body along with his whole left arm, but he isn't bleeding. Squinting to ge a better look at the man, Minazuki suddenly sees the large red object in the man's chest before thinking, " _Could it be!? Is he..._ "

"He's an Imperial Arm!", Tatsumi shouts as the man's arm and body start to regenerate.

"Human type Imperial Arm, Susanoo.", Minazuki mutters to himself with a slight grin on his face.

With his body returned to working condition, Susanoo's attention quickly turns to Mine, who's hair is a complete mess since her fall caused her hairband to fall out. The man towers over her for moment as he looks down at her unkempt hair, and as he kneels down to her, the pink haired sniper flinches in response. The Imperial Arm quickly fixes her hair, his nimble fingers flattening out the imperfections and straightening every loose hair before returning her hairband to her head to hold it all in place before saying, "Fixed.", and patting her head.

He then stands back up and looks up to Najenda, waiting for his next order. They then hear Najenda shout out to the Imperial Arm, "Susanoo, there are enemies trying to hide in the south west woods! Squash them and leave no survivors!"

"Understood!", he shouts back to his master before jumping to the trees and rushing to the south west woods.

 _"There are more of these guys..? I'm not letting him go, not by himself. Even if he's an Imperial Arm..._ ", Minazuki starts to think before concentrating on the sand in his clothes and forcing his body to go after Susanoo.

As Minazuki follows after Susanoo, Leone reaches out for him and shouts, "Where do you think you're going!?"

"To provide backup! Tatsumi, you stay here and hold off any stragglers that we might've missed!", Minazuki shouts back as he follows after the Imperial Arm.

When he finally catches up to Susanoo, they see Doctor Stylish with three of his test subjects. "My my, so you're a Night Raider after all, Monk? And Tatsumi too..? I simply thought he might've died in the mountains, but I guess that explains why I never found his body...because he ran away with you. You two were part of Night Raid from the very start. You might've had everyone else fooled, but not the great Doctor Stylish.", Doctor Stylish says his anger seeming to burn in his eyes like a raging flame.

"Don't worry Doctor Stylish! We'll be your Rook and Bishop!", Me says as he and Hana block their path toward Doctor Stylish.

"Yeah, we'll beat these guys for you!", Hana shouts as he takes a fake karate stance.

" _No, this is impossible. These guys are both way out of your leagues. You're both made for reconnaissance, not real battles like these guys are. And one of them is a human Imperial Arm. He won't even flinch at my special poisons. This is bad! Looks like I have to resort to my other Trump Card._ ", Doctor Stylish thinks as he grits his teeth. The great Doctor quickly pulls a vial out of his lab coat and injects himself with its contents while shouting, "When it comes to this line of work, always prepare for the worst! Trump Card Two, Danger Beast Extract, one dose! This is all I'll need to win!"

With the evil liquid running through his veins, Stylish's body suddenly grows into a giant abomination of flesh, part human, part danger beast. "Here I am! This is the ultimate in stylishness! By becoming a danger beast, I'll blow all of you Night Raiders away myself!", Doctor Stylish exclaims in a rage as the danger beast extract starts to take hold and he forms into a giant monster, towering over the two Night Raiders and his test subjects.

Hana and Me both look to their master, amazement and wonder filling their eyes as they ask, "What will you need of us, Doctor Stylish!?"

The monstrous Doctor grabs the two subjects with his demonic hands and replies with, "You are my precious nutrients! Now, let's become one!", before a giant mouth opens in his fleshy chest and he devours both of them in one bite.

Unable to run or hide, Mimi watches in horror as her fellow test subjects are chewed and swallowed before Doctor Stylish turns to her with a wicked smile on his no longer human face. The Doctor grabs the small girl and as she pisses herself in fear, he greedily smiles to her and says, "This is wonderful! A hearty meal of nutritious meat, and I level up!" In a single bite, the monster devours the poor girl whole as he did the others, causing his giant body to begin to morph yet again.

His new form now seemed more human than monster, with human-like legs, arms, a torso, and even a head, but its size was beyond belief and on the forehead you could see there was an opening where he was fused with the main brain.

"He sacrificed his humanity and ate his own test subjects for power. Disgusting.", Minazuki growls as he feels rage start to swell up inside his heart.

" _Mortal, I still require your body as a conduit, so I will not allow you to die here. So, in order to keep you in one piece, I'll grant you a portion of my godly power. In your current condition, you might not be able to move the earth to your will at a grand scale like before, but with the boost in raw power I'll giving you...you should be able to eliminate this fool without any effort._ ", Minazuki hears Quake say to him as the gem in the right gauntlet glows.

"Good, because I may need it here. This guy's huge.", Minazuki says, forgetting Susanoo was still there.

Susanoo looks to him with a confused look and asks, "Who are you talking to?"

Minazuki ignores the Imperial Arm for the moment before noting, "We have a job to do."

Suddenly, Doctor Stylish throws a meteor-like punch at the Night Raiders. " _Quake, please grant me your power!_ ", Minazuki calls out to the divine beast in his gauntlet, causing his body to suddenly surge with unbelievably power as he glows with a brownish aura. With this borrowed power, Minazuki pulls his fist back and launches his own punch, aiming it straight for Stylish's fist. And as their fists collide, both fighters are sent reeling back from the power one another had stored in their attacks.

" _W-what!? Is his Imperial Arm that strong!? I-Impossible!_ ", Doctor Stylish thinks to himself as he tries desperately not to fall over.

As he's sent flying back from the raw power in Stylish's punch, Minazuki manages to catch himself with his sand, stopping himself from skidding any further and facing himself towards the behemoth attacking his friends and home. And as he sees a shadow dart across the ground, Minazuki suddenly looks up to see Tatsumi carrying Akame on his back, heading straight for Doctor Stylish. "They must be planning to end this then. I need to play my part.", Minazuki growls to himself as he rushes back into the fight.

With Doctor Stylish still wobbling from his clash with Minazuki's attack, Najenda sets up Mine on the Air Manta to fire a direct shot behind one of his knees. The attack knocks him down to one knee, when Minazuki rushes in and punched him straight in the chest, knocking him on his back.

"This is the end for you, Stylish!", Tatsumi shouts as the leap up onto his giant body, heading straight for his head. He tries to swat them off, but Minazuki and Susanoo attack his giant hands, sending them flying back and crashing down into the earth below.

"Not yet! I'm not done yet!", Doctor Stylish shouts as sharp wires come out from behind his giant head and head straight for Tatsumi and Akame! With all his might, Tatsumi quickly chucks the crimson eyed assassin straight at Doctor Stylish while shouting, "There, cut him there, Akame! Go!"

The toss is perfect to say the least, allowing Akame to weave her way through Stylish's attack and land a killing blow. With one slash of her sword, it was over. She cut straight across his human chest and as blood sprayed out of the wound, his eyes widened in complete shock as the curse took its hold. In just a few seconds, his giant body fell completely lifeless.

Still under the effects of the poison and unable to save herself, Akame starts to fall down toward the earth before Tatsumi comes in to catch her in his arms. "It's over.", Akame sluggishly mutters with a slight smile as she looks back at her handiwork.

With Doctor Stylish dead, Najenda lands the Air Manta and carries the others back to the base where a girl with long auburn hair and matching eyes dressed in a school girl like uniform with a lollipop in her mouth and Leone, who is carrying Lubbock's unconscious body with one hand over her shoulder, are waiting for them.

With all the Imperial Arms that the enemy had brought before them; Hands of God Perfector, Reflector Shield Aegis, Faster Than Light Sheika(The Ninja Star Imperial Arm), and Split the Seas Heev(The Anchor Type Imperial Arm), Najenda gave her team a cheeky grin. "Good job everyone. This will help the war effort outstandingly. But, this does leave us with a problem."

Their leader lets out a stray cough into her closed hand before turning her attention back to her team and ordering, "As of this moment, this base is compromised. We'll be relocating right away, starting now! If you're able to move, go collect your things. I'll be expecting you all back shortly."

With the poison mostly out of their system at this point, everyone except for Lubbock, who's still unconscious, salutes their boss before going to fulfill her orders.


	14. Meet the Newcomers

It's early morning and Night Raid is still heading to their destination in the south east, riding the Air Manta through the sky like a plane. With the wind speeding through his short brown locks, Tatsumi feels the wind air jetting past him as he shouts, "Woooaaah, awesome! This feels amazing!"

The stranger sitting next to him with long orange hair and a lollipop in her mouth laughs at his childish behavior and giggles, "You must be Tatsumi. Najenda described you to the T. You seem so pure, it's hard to imagine that you're actually a killer. You're quite interesting."

Closer to the head of the Air Manta, Leone, Minazuki and Akame are sitting together in front of Najenda. "This is actually kind of fun.", Leone gleefully notes with her hair blowing back at the Night Raiders behind her and a smile on her face.

Nodding in response, Minazuki adds, "The breeze definitely feels good.", but grasps at his right arm, holding it close to his side as he hides his twisted, pain-filled expression under his mask. " _We might've finished off Stylish, but...my arm..._ ", the masked boy begins to think before Quake growls, " _You mortals and your fragile bodies, stop complaining. Your arm isn't broken or anything, it's just the recoil from hosting my power._ " Gritting his teeth through the pain, Minazuki questions the God, asking it, " _So this is from using your gift?_ "

" _You'll recover after some time, so stop complaining. You should just be grateful that you're still alive, considering the size of that twisted human you and your friends took on._ ", the Danger Beast scolds the boy in its usual harsh tone, to which Minazuki only rolls his eyes.

"It's pretty good.", Akame notes as the wind blows her black hair as well.

Near the back of the Air Manta, Mine and Lubbock are terrified out of their minds by how far up they are. "T-this isn't good! What if we fall off!?", Mine shouts in a panic.

"Don't worry, someone just might catch you before your tiny little body smashes into the ground, probably not though.", the orange haired stranger says with a slight snicker as she picks on the shorty.

The Air Manta starts to slowly descend and Lubbock shouts, "Are we crashing!? We're crashing! It's game over man, game over! I didn't want to go out like this! I wanted to at least see some breasts before I died!", as he tightens his grip on the Danger Beast into a full on death grip, refusing to let go of its pudgy flesh.

As she looks over to the panicking boy with a kind smile, Sheele gently places her hand on his shoulder and says, "We're just landing. It'll be alright, Lubbock."

"Yeah, we're just landing. It's alright. Everything will be a'okay.", Lubbock replies as he tries to convince himself that the truth really is the truth.

"So, where are we now? From what I'm seeing, it looks like we're southeast of the Capital, but where exactly?", Minazuki questions as he glances over to their fearless leader who's focusing her sight on their destination.

"Margue Plateau. Thanks to its unique ecosystem, there are all kinds of high-level danger beasts here and it isn't suitable for normal humans to live in.", Najenda replies with a sly grin on her face. "But we aren't average humans now, are we?", Najenda adds as her grin turns to a confident smile that reaches from cheek to cheek.

As the Air Manta lands near a few trees on a cliff side, everyone prepares to dismount the beast. After a moment of collecting their things, everyone except for Lubbock manages to get off without any assistance. Lubbock however seems to struggle for a moment to get down from the giant beast's back. First he tries to lower his legs down to the ground, but finds that his legs are too short to reach that far. Then he tries to reach out for a nearby tree branch to latch onto, but it instantly snaps off when he puts the slightest amount of pressure on it. With the orange haired bully and the busty blonde both snickering at his failure, Lubbock stands tall on the beast's back, looking down at the ground with a scowl. " _I'm not gonna let this thing beat me! I'm a member of Night Raid! I'm a master assassin! I can do this!_ ", the emerald-haired assassin shouts internally as he takes a deep breath, prepping himself for his leap of faith. As he goes to leap down like the other assassins did before him, Lubbock trips over one of the Manta's fleshy bumps before falling face first off the thing.

Before the assassin can crash into the ground however, Minazuki catches him by his shirt, holding the boy just inches from the ground. "T-thanks Minazuki, I owe you one.", Lubbock mutters, trying to keep the others from hearing his defeated tone.

"No problem.", Minazuki quickly replies as he helps the boy get back on his feet.

Leone and the new girl continue to snicker at Lubbock's failure though, which causes the master weaver panic and say, "H-hey! Cut it out! It was really high up, alright!?"

"This place is unexplored territory, so it makes the perfect hiding place, don't you think?", Najenda notes as she sets her bag down on the ground. "Right now, the Revolutionary Army's Reconnaissance Team is searching for a new location for us to rebuild our base around the Capital. Until they've found one, we'll be training here.", their leader explains before the Air Manta suddenly takes off and starts flying away on its own, leaving the Night Raiders behind.

"Hey, should we do something about that? We left the Imperial Arms we gathered on it.", Mine asks as they all watch helplessly as the majestic beast flies off into the distance.

"It's a tamed danger beast, so it's likely heading back to its nest, which if I had to guess was back at the Revolutionary Army's Headquarters, correct?", Sheele suggests before turning to Najenda for an answer.

She replies with a stern nod before answering with, "Yes, it's a valuable vehicle, so we can't be monopolizing it. This way, it gets sent back to the Revolutionary Army and delivers the Imperial Arms all in one trip."

"Come on Mine, you didn't even know that?", the unknown girl asks before laughing at Mine's ignorance.

"Oh, could we ride one of those and rush into the Capital's palace that way?", Tatsumi suggests, his eyes filling with wonder and joy at the thought of riding such a beast into battle like an elite warrior.

"That's impossible. The airspace around the palace has tamed danger beasts guarding it.", Akame explains, shooting down not only Tatsumi's plan, but also his hopes and dreams of riding the beast again.

"Wow, their defenses are completely impassable, aren't they?", Tatsumi grumbles in frustration as he slouches, losing all hope after the loss of such a wonderful idea.

"Well, it'll return once our base is ready and the heat's died down in the Capital, so just relax. Now let's get the formal introductions out of the way. First up is Ch-", Najenda says before stopping and looking to her right to find nobody there.

As she hears a childish squeal come from behind her, the Boss turns around to see the orange haired girl as she starts playing with Akame's air and saying, "Ah, Akame, you're so cute now that I got a closer look at you~"

"What are you doing?", Akame asks as the pestering girl continues to play with the assassin's her silky black hair.

"My name's Chelsea. Let's all be good friends, as well as teammates!", the cheeky girl says before pulling another lollipop out of her pocket.

As she holds the treat out to Akame, the assassin's mouth begins to drool, causing the new girl to smirk before saying, "Here, I'll give you this."

The dusk colored assassin swiftly snatches the snack away from the girl before munching down on it and replying with, "Welcome to the team."

"D-did she just win Akame over with a piece of candy!?", Tatsumi shouts in complete disbelief at the sight of someone manipulating Akame so easily.

"She must've been hungry from the lack of snacks!", Lubbock shouts, joining Tatsumi in his confusion as he tries to put together the bizarre puzzle.

"Doesn't she seem a bit young to be a professional killer? Or is the Revolutionary Army hiring child soldiers now?", Minazuki asks, doubting the logic behind this decision.

"Don't judge her on looks alone. She's a talented killer, who's completed just as many jobs as Akame has.", Najenda replies as she smirks over at the masked assassin.

" _So many young people. Most of them are just kids..._ ", Minazuki begins to think as he looks to the other assassins.

" _They've chosen this path, Mortal. Do not think too long on it._ ", Quake scolds his user, the God's voice carrying a fair amount of power even in Minazuki's thoughts.

Minazuki just nods, which was actually for Quake, but as Najenda sees his response she claps her hands to gain everyone's attention once more. "And this is my new Imperial Arm! I received him as a loan from the Revolutionary Army, Speed of Lightning, Susanoo!", Najenda continues her introductions as she points to the horned 'man' at her side.

Susanoo stays silent, his eyes seeming cold and distant as he looks to his new comrades with a blank expression. He shows no emotion in the slightest, but what can one expect from an Imperial Arm?

"Since he's an organism type that moves on his own, there's as little burden on the user as possible. Even I can use him in my condition.", Najenda happily notes as she lifts her mechanical arm, wiggling the metal fingers to the best of her ability, which isn't much.

"Nice to meet you, again.", Tatsumi kindly tells the demon-like man before him as he holds his hand out to shake Susanoo's.

As he looks down at the childish smile on Tatsumi's face, Susanoo's eyes suddenly widen in terror at the sight of Tatsumi's undershirt. As he notices the boy's shirt isn't properly tucked into his pants, his right eye frantically twitches. The neat-freak quickly drops to a knee and before Tatsumi could even react, Susanoo had already fixed the imperfection. "Fixed!", Susanoo shouts after he's finished.

Najenda lets out an annoyed sigh before hiding her face in her palm and saying, "Yeah, I forgot to mention that part. He's a bit of a neat freak for whatever reason."

"Yeah, he even fixed my hair yesterday in the middle of the battle. He's an odd Imperial Arm.", Mine adds as she gives the walking Imperial Arm a slight glare, running her hands over her hair as she remembers him touching it.

"So, more importantly, what can he do? We saw that he's pretty strong in hand-to-hand combat, but Minazuki, Tatsumi and myself all have that already? What makes him so special?", Leone questions Najenda as the blonde sits down on a large root jetting out of the ground.

As she reveals her confident smile to the team, Najenda laughs at the lioness' question before saying, "Let me show you. Prepare to be astonished! Do it, Susanoo!"

Turning to his master, the horned Imperial Arm nods and says, "Understood.", before beginning to show off his many abilities. First, he starts cutting down trees, swiftly eliminating each tree with a single strike of the ax. Then he builds a small base for everyone to live in out of the wood he just chopped down, remembering to accommodate for every member of Night Raid as he goes along with his task. Shortly after constructing the base in a fraction of the time it would've taken a group of men to, Susanoo hand-washes everyone's dirty clothes like a maid. And finally he starts preparing lunch for everyone to enjoy.

Lubbock and Tatsumi watch in confusion as Susanoo uses his 'abilities' to help the team and Lubbock says, "Well, I am amazed, but what is this?"

"Yeah, it looks like he's just doing chores.", Tatsumi notes with a slightly confused tilt of his head.

"That's right! He's originally an Imperial Arm created for escorting nobles! Along with his battle abilities, he's fully equipped with the skills to do any household chores you could imagine! This means he'll always be of some use! Cleaning, laundry, whatever it may be! The repertoire of meals he's able to cook is nearly limitless!", Najenda confidently exclaims with her pride radiating off of her like a cloak of courage.

"That's it!? That has zero use in an actual battle!", Mine furiously shouts as she hears her Boss' explanation.

"No no! This will come in handy, trust me!", Najenda refutes, shaking her head in disapproval at Mine's reaction to such an amazing Imperial Arm. _"There is that one thing though..._ ", the leader thinks as she remembers her Imperial Arm's other abilities. Letting out a slight grumble, Najenda then adds, "Well, he does have a Trump Card for battle as well, right Susanoo?"

Susanoo gives his master a quick nod before replying with a blunt, "Correct."

Minazuki looks him over and sees the red circular object protruding from his chest. " _According to the information I've gathered, that's his core. Is it really wise to display such a weak point so boldly?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he walks up to Susanoo. He doesn't say a word and reaches to touch his core with his right hand, but Susanoo grabs his hand before he can touch it.

"Don't touch that.", Susanoo bluntly demands with a stern glare.

Energy seems to surge through Quake and into Susanoo's hand, forcing the horned man to let go of the gauntlet. " _I see, so Quake still fights on..._ ", Susanoo thinks to himself as he notices that the gem in the right gauntlet has started to glow with a brownish aura.

"Well, I'm glad you're all joining the team.", Tatsumi tells them with his usual smile on his face.

The two newcomers ignore the comment while they go about their own business.

Chelsea is standing over Mine from behind and mocks the girl, saying, "Wow, you're a real kid aren't ya? It's written all over your chest! And with all this pink on you, you're like a flat-chested shrimp! It's so cute~", while patting the sniper's chest like the board it is, sending the pink haired Tsundere into a rage.

Susanoo is standing with Lubbock glaring up at him, almost as if he's trying to burn a hole in the Imperial Arm with his gaze. The boy's scowl quickly shifts to a grin before he turns around, doing a full 180, as he shrugs off Susanoo's many talents, saying, "Even if you can do chores and you're a looker, in the end you're just an Imperial Arm. There's no way I'd lose to something like you."

The Imperial Arm doesn't seem to take any offense from his comment, only raising an eyebrow at Lubbock before walking back over to his master's side.

* * *

Back at the meeting room for the Jaegers, Esdeath sits, waiting for any reports to come in. Run and Phi enter the room, Run's face seems a bit disappointed.

"We finished searching Stylish's house.", Phi informs the General, catching Esdeath's attention as the blue haired woman raises an eyebrow at her student's comment.

"There wasn't any evidence as to where he might have gone. And several valuable experiment materials and tools were left behind, so he didn't just run away.", Run explains as he looks down at the paper in his hands, reading off the notes he'd taken when they investigated the building.

"We believe he might've been-", Phi begins to say before Esdeath sighs and says, "Killed."

"All of his enhanced soldiers were gone...along with the Imperial Arms the Prime Minister provided him for research purposes, so it's likely he went into battle without telling anybody and got completely destroyed. General, I'm sorry I couldn't have been of more use.", Phi says as she takes off her mask and bows in respect of her master, causing Esdeath to rise from her chair.

"It's quite alright, Phi. I anticipated Stylish might've gotten himself killed as soon as he failed to report in. It isn't your fault at all. But there is something I'd like you to attend to for me.", Esdeath says as she places a hand on Phi's shoulder. Raising her head to look up to her commander, Phi locks eyes with the General as she says, "Seryu has lost another person so dear to her. She needs someone who shares her pain. Could you go...talk to her? To make sure she's able to continue fighting."

Understanding her master's orders, Phi gives Esdeath a swift nod before leaving to find Seryu.

When the girl finally finds Seryu she finds the girl cleaning her weapons in the garden with her Imperial Arm at her side. Phi walks into the garden, approaching Seryu from behind, before saying, "Seryu, General Esdeath sent me to check on you. Is your maintenance going well?"

"It's going alright... I found some of the materials the Doctor left behind, so I should be able to do the maintenance myself. But any additions and upgrades are impossible now.", Seryu replies with a blushing smile as she looks up at her comrade.

Phi meets the former-guard's smile with her own as she walks over to Seryu's side, sitting down next to her and Koro, looks up at her with his usual look(mostly blank, but slightly hungry).

"Please, tell General Esdeath that I'll be alright. I'm fine, really.", Seryu asks of her teammate, but as she makes her request her body begins to tremble.

"Seryu, it's alright for you to cry, you know? Just because you're a bringer of justice, that doesn't mean you can't show how you feel, especially to one of your comrades.", the green haired girl says to her friend, her words hitting Seryu with the warmth and kindness she always needed.

"Phi?", Seryu calls out to her with tears starting to well up in her eyes, holding herself to stop the trembling that only gets worse as she starts to cry. "First my parents, then my teacher, and now my savior! All the people I care about are dying around me, but I can't do anything to stop it!", Seryu growls as her frustration continues to bubble like a pot of boiling water.

"Seryu...", Phi gently calls out to the girl, trying to reach out to her with her calming heart.

"What do I do!? No matter what I do, they all keep leaving me! I don't want anyone else to-", Seryu shout as her pent up rage and anger start to boil over before suddenly stopping as she feels herself being wrapped in a hug. The fighter looks over to Phi to see she's the one embracing her with her warm body, stunning the girl into silence.

As Phi starts to stroke Seryu's hair, Seryu's rage starts to subside into despair as she continues to sob in her friend's embrace, and as she sees this, Phi tells the crying girl, "Seryu, it'll be alright. How about this, I'll make you a promise."

"A promise?", Seryu asks with a sniffle as she pulls a bit of snot back into her nostrils.

"I won't ever leave you, no matter what. We'll destroy Night Raid and every other evil doer in this terrible world, together.", Phi says as she tightens her hold on Seryu.

"You, promise?", Seryu questions, hesitant at first, but wanting to know the answer.

Phi looks down at her friend with a hearty smile as she nods and says, "It's a promise. We'll both live through this and see justice prevail, right Seryu?"

Seryu's eye light up with joy and a smile forms across her face as she hears Phi say that, before she hugs Phi back, returning her caring embrace.

Phi gently holds the girl in her arms, lightly petting her head as she tells Seryu, "I might not be as smart as Doctor Stylish was, or as strong as your teacher was, but I'll try my hardest to never leave you alone, Seryu. That's a promise.", before breaking their hug.

As they sit on their knees across from one another, Seryu lets out a light-hearted giggle and says, "You're plenty strong Phi, General Esdeath always speaks so highly of her 'favorite student.' She even let you join her elite task force, so you shouldn't underestimate your own abilities."

Phi just innocently smiles at before saying, "I'll try not to next time. Now let's go report in to General Esdeath. She's been worrying a lot about you."

When they hear the sound of heavy footsteps, the two girl turn to see Bols walking toward them with a plate with three steaming tea cups. "I-I'm sorry...for interrupting, but I wanted to make sure you were fine, Seryu. After hearing about what happened to Doctor Stylish, I knew you'd be feeling down, so I made some tea. I hope it helps.", Bols nervously explains himself as he hands Seryu a cup of tea.

The girl happily takes the offering before saying, "Thank you Bols. Come, let's have tea together."

"A-are you sure? It seems like you were in the middle of-", Bols begins to say before Seryu takes the plate off of him and hands it to Phi, followed by her pulling Bols down on the ground with them. As Bols is left dumbfounded by what just happened, Phi hands the masked giant his cup of tea before taking her own and placing the plate off to the side.

"Let's just take this moment to remember the people we've lost in this war against this evil that has such a strong hold on the world we love so much. To the fallen, may they always be in our hearts and never be forgotten!", Phi says as she raises her cup in the air, making a toast.

Seryu meets her cup with her own and Bols does the same as the two, in unison, say, "To the fallen."

They then drink their tea as they look off into the distance. " _Night Raid, I will have you face justice for your crimes! For my family, for my teacher, and for my savior, I will not lose!_ ", Seryu thinks passionately as she looks off to the distance.

* * *

Back at the Night Raid temporary base, they've just finished the exquisite lunch Susanoo made for them and are mingling with one another. "I wonder if things will be alright in the Capital. Until the heat dies down, we're stuck out here.", Tatsumi says, worry seeming to fill his hazel eyes.

"Crime levels seem to have dropped since the Jaegers came into existence. With that, the villains won't be able to move as much as they used to, so it's likely that it'll be fine while we're out here.", Akame notes in her usual cold tone.

"We should take the time we have to train. Under these harsher conditions, we should be able to hone our physical and mental abilities even further.", Minazuki suggests, earning a nod from the group's leader.

"Minazuki's right, everyone should be focusing on training now more than ever. According to the Great General himself, these are the last reinforcements we'll be getting. Think of the people in this room as the last group of people with talent in Night Raid. Let's all complete our missions, live on, and welcome the coming of Revolution!", Najenda passionately explains to them, filling her subordinates' hearts with courage and hope.

" _This is it, huh? Most of them are just children. I guess it can't be helped, but still._ ", Minazuki starts to think before Quake sighs and says, " _You're thinking about this again? They were all accepted by their Imperial Arms and from the looks of them, they're all tough, for being mortals of course._ " Minazuki looks around, seeing the smiling faces on most of his comrades, before thinking, " _I guess you're right. They're all that we have, so we must work with what we have now._ "

Minazuki then looks to Susanoo, who's standing with his back against the wall, watching everyone finish the scraps left on their plates, and then to Chelsea, who's still teasing Mine, this time about her height. " _Susanoo I can read plain as day, he's an Imperial Arm after all, but Chelsea, I'll need more data if I want to understand them better. I'll ask the Boss what she knows and go from there._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he lets himself relax a bit.

Later, after lunch has ended and some of the team has gone off to train, Minazuki approaches Najenda as she's smoking outside in the doorway. "Boss, I'd like more data on the new member of our team, Chelsea. I'd like to know where she came from, and her Imperial Arm if that's possible.", Minazuki firmly requests, slightly surprising the Boss with his boldness.

Najenda raises an eyebrow and says, "Alright, I'll give you what information I can, but I doubt it'll make much of a difference." "Chelsea was originally part of one of the regional teams, but they were wiped out in an ambush on their base while she was away on a mission. She came home to all of her comrades dead. Like I said before, she's just as skilled as Akame in our trade, except that her Imperial Arm isn't suited for one on one combat. Her Imperial Arm, Gaea Foundation, is a Make-Up type Imperial Arm. Its main ability is transforming the user into whoever they desire. They look exactly like the real person, just that their memories and knowledge aren't there. It's the perfect Imperial Arm for infiltrating, but it's lacking in most combat situations.", Najenda explains, giving Minazuki the basic rundown of what he needs to know about Chelsea.

"Gaea Foundation? If I recall correctly, that Imperial Arm doesn't even have a Trump Card.", Minazuki notes to himself as he pulls out Shoryu's journal and flips to Gaea Foundation's entry. He reads it over one more time and nods before saying, "Yeah, no Trump Card. Its only ability is illusion, and even at that, Shoryu already found a way around that issue."

"H-he found a way to see past Gaea Foundation's transformation!?", Najenda asks as the cigarette falls out of her mouth from the sudden shock.

Minazuki gives her a quick nod before telling the Boss, "Even though they look physically like the person they're trying to be, and they might be able to mimic the person's personality with enough training, they still can't hide the small traces of aura inside Gaea Foundation. He found a way to use Quake's addition senses to tell whether or not someone was using Gaea Foundation or not."

Najenda lets out an irritated groan after hearing this before saying, "Please make Chelsea aware of the flaw in her Imperial Arm. If Shoryu was able to figure this out, someone else might also be able to figure it out."

Minazuki walks off and thinks, " _Quake, do you know how we could help fix that issue? How did Shoryu figure that out anyways?_ "

" _One can not simply remove the aura from Gaea Foundation. It's a byproduct of using its abilities. Every Imperial Arm gives off their own unique aura, that is what I showed Shoryu long ago. And that is how he came to figure out the weakness in Gaea Foundation._ ", Quake explains, talking down to Minazuki in his usual Godly fashion.

" _So she wouldn't be able to do anything about it other than mask it somehow with a fake aura?_ ", Minazuki thinks, trying to find some sort of solution.

" _Faking an aura perfectly is nearly impossible unless they've used the Imperial Arm before. Each Imperial Arm releases a certain amount depending on how powerful of an attack it lets off, if it's their Trump Card, or some other forms of activation._ ", Quake explains, this time seeming to scold the boy for not knowing suck a simple thing.

" _I see, so our best bet is to inform her of the weakness and tell her to be careful?_ ", Minazuki mentally questions the God in his gauntlet.

" _Correct, Mortal, there is no way she'll ever be able to perfectly mimic something so complicated as an aura to mask her own._ ", Quake replies before they hear a rustle from the nearby bushes.

A mountain lion suddenly walks out of the bushes and starts growling at Minazuki. The mountain lion seems bigger than most average ones and more ferocious too. " _That's Gaea. Notice the aura that's hidden near her heart. That's the slight clue it gives off._ ", Quake explains as Minazuki uses Quake's sixth sense to see the aura slightly. It's a light hazel aura that he can just barely see, but it's there like Quake said it'd be.

The mountain lion goes to pounce on Minazuki, but he just forms a cage around it before sinking the bars into the ground to force it into a laying position. Minazuki lets out a disappointed sigh and says, "I guess you aren't aware of it then?" Chelsea tries to keep up her facade, growling like a caged lion would as she claws at the stone prison around her, but Minazuki just sits down in front of her and says, "I can see through your trick, Chelsea." Chelsea tries calling his bluff and tries to use the mountain lion's claws to swing at him through the bars, but Minazuki is barely out of her range of attack. "Your Gaea Foundation, it gives off a small trace of its aura while you're transformed. It's a very small amount, but I can still sense it.", he coldly explains to her, seeming to finally get through to her as she retracts her claws and moves back to the center of the cage.

Chelsea reluctantly breaks the transformation, turning back into her normal form as she asks, "What do you mean, aura?"

Minazuki explains what Quake just explained to him, how Imperial Arms give off their own auras.

"From what I've been able to get from Shoryu's journal, when someone uses their Imperial Arm, it gives off an energy that he called 'aura' and every Imperial Arm gives off it's own unique aura when you use it. Though some are more visible than others, all of them have this trait and in this case it works heavily in the opponent's favor if they can sense it.", Minazuki explains to the caged girl, to which she gives him an understanding nod.

"I see, so I could just-", she begins to suggest before Minazuki shakes his head no and tells her, "You can't even mimic the aura from another Imperial Arm or even suppress Gaea Foundation's." She's shocked by his answering before she could ask and says, "You already thought of that."

"Of course. I'm still trying to see if there's a counter measure for this problem, but so far, it seems like a vital flaw in your Imperial Arm. I've already informed the Boss and now I'm informing you.", Minazuki replies as he turns the cage to sand with a wave of his hand.

Now covered in sand, Chelsea stands up and dusts herself off before saying, "Thanks for the information, but next time, could you not put me in a cage? That'd be great." " _His stance is always defensive, as if he's anticipating an attack at any moment. He's just like how Najenda described him._ ", the well-calculated girl thinks to herself as she looks through the boy's mask, their gazes locking for a moment. As the two have their staredown, Chelsea recalls her conversation with Najenda before they departed to assist the other Night Raid members.

* * *

"General Najenda, your report here says that you had two new recruits to your team. You don't seem to have any files on them, so could you help me out here?", Chelsea asks the General as she flips through the personnel files Najenda gave her on the rest of Night Raid.

"Of course. The first one is Tatsumi, he's a simple boy. After coming to the Capital to seek fame and fortune to help his poor village, he saw the true face of the Capital: a family of nobles had tortured and killed hundreds of people, including two kids that he apparently grew up with. One of them died in his arms. It's quite the tragic tale. After Bulat's death, he inherited Incursio as his Imperial Arm, and seems to still be getting used to it.", Najenda replies, answering the girl's question both swiftly and effectively.

"And what about the other one, Minazuki?", Chelsea asks as she continues to take notes in her notebook.

"Minazuki, he's kind of hard to describe. He's strong like Bulat, but prefers to use his Imperial Arm, Split the Earth in Two: Quake, a gauntlet type Imperial Arm.", Najenda begins to explain before Chelsea raises her hand to ask a question like a good student should.

"Wouldn't a gauntlet type Imperial Arm be hard to use as an assassin? Like, does he just beat them to death or something?", Chelsea asks in a slightly mocking manor, aimed toward Minazuki.

"Actually, it's quite deadly. Up close, a single punch could shatter every bone in your body and damage vital organs beyond repair, and at long range he's still able to attack with his Imperial Arm's ability.", Najenda continues, causing the sly detective girl to raise an eyebrow at the General.

"Ability?", Chelsea asks as she writes down the Imperial Arm's name and prepares to write down its abilities and possible weaknesses.

"Quake, as its name implies, is able to allow the user to perform Terrakinesis.", Najenda explains to the girl, only leaving her with further questions.

"To what extent exactly?", Chelsea questions the General again, to which the woman simply shrugs.

"We aren't sure yet. There weren't any records of this Imperial Arm's existence in our logs and nobody I've spoken to has heard of it, yet it's clearly an Imperial Arm. It might even be possible that this Imperial Arm has as much power as Esdeath's.", Najenda suggests with a slight chuckle at the thought of such a powerful weapon.

"So, his Imperial Arm's limits are unknown, but how is he currently with it?", Chelsea continues as she makes more notes.

"If I'm being honest, he's really good with it. Not quite as attuned to it as Akame is with Murasame, since he's shown that the weapon seems to strain him mentally, but he's getting there.", Najenda suggests to her, causing Chelsea to stop writing mid sentence.

"Really? Akame's level is pretty high. Are you sure that you're not over estimating this guy?", Chelsea skeptically questions the Boss' explanation.

Najenda nods and says, "That's according to Akame, not me. I doubted her at first, but then she explained that he trained against her and Bulat at the same time with Bulat wearing his Incursio armor, but managed to evade her attacks and nearly knocked out Bulat before passing out from heat exhaustion and over exertion. The only reason why I wasn't able to get him to recreate the training session was because Leone said it was too dangerous."

"So Akame believes in his abilities then? That's a good enough source then. What about the man himself? What's he like?", Chelsea asks as she closes her notebook and puts it behind her back, nolonger needing to take physical notes at this point.

"He's cold and calculated, like Akame. He can likely predict an enemy's actions before they even know what they'll do. He wears a mask from a legend linked to his Imperial Arm along with a jacket that's heavier than it seems.", Najenda begins to explain, causing Chelsea to get a confused look on her face.

"A mask huh? Have you seen him without it, or is he always wearing it?", Chelsea asks with a slight groan as she thinks, " _Great, now I'll have to work with some masked weirdo? That's just my luck._ "

"He wears it most of the time, but recently, he's been leaving it off around the house and sometimes goes out without it when he's going into the Capital with Leone. Other than those situations, he'll likely be wearing his mask. As for what he looks like, he has shortish long black hair and dark eyes. He's actually decent looking, but for his own purposes, he feels it necessary to wear a mask.", Najenda continues to explain to the girl, giving a slight description of Minazuki to her.

"I see, is there anything else I might need to know?", Chelsea asks as she prepares to leave.

Najenda lights a cigarette before saying, "There are two things I should mention before you go."

Chelsea tilts her head with a confused glance aimed at the General as she waits to hear the details before Najenda blows smoke into the air. "First, Minazuki is beyond great at deceiving others. He even helped Leone con a caravan merchant into giving them all his wears just to prove to Tatsumi that he could. He seems to have been well trained to lie, so its possible that he could be an Imperial Spy sent to infiltrate our ranks and take us out from the inside. Though, I find that highly unlikely.", Najenda notes as she continues to smoke her cigarette, giving the death stick a slight shake to toss the burnt bits off its end.

"How exactly do you find that unlikely?", Chelsea asks as her curious tone shifts to a more serious one.

Najenda turns and asks her, "Do you recall what our bases are mostly made out of now a'days?"

"Well, yeah, they're made of-", the bold girl starts to answer before her eyes widen as she realizing what the General meant.

"-made of stone to best protect ourselves from an outside attack. Except a Terrakinesis based Imperial Arm would have no problem being able to kill everyone and everything in there. The fact that most of them are still alive is proof to me that he's likely on our side.", Najenda suggests as she continues to enjoy her cigarette.

"And the second thing?", Chelsea asks with a curious look.

"His Imperial Arm gives him a 'sixth sense.'", Najenda bluntly tells her before returning the cigarette to her mouth for another blast of nicotine.

"Sixth sense, so he can see into the future?", Chelsea jokingly asks with a slight chuckle, but Najenda shakes her head no.

"Apparently, he can sense the vibrations through the ground and see what exactly is making those vibrations, thus giving him an additional sense of sight. I'm not certain if this ability is constantly in effect, but it seems as he continues to master the ability itself, his range increases.", Najenda explains the ability to the girl, causing her to drop her notebook. Chelsea's jaw drops and her lollipop falls out of her mouth before Najenda says, "We should be happy that he isn't as childish as Lubbock, or he'd be watching all of us bathing in the hotsprings from miles away."

"H-how do you kn-", Chelsea begins to ask before Najenda says, "Leone seems to be keeping him occupied while the other girls take their baths, but when she's in the bath, she actually offers to let him join. Their partner relationship is...unique."

"Thank you for the intel, General Najenda. I'm looking forward to working with your group.", Chelsea says with a bow before frantically grabbing her notebook off the ground and taking her leave. As she speed-walks away, the orange haired girl thinks to herself, " _This Minazuki guy, if what the General's saying is all true, then he could be a serious problem to the Revolution if he turns on us, or better yet if he's a spy. I'll have to keep a close eye on him once I get there..._ "

* * *

With her thoughts from back then echoing in her mind like a broken record, Chelsea mentally chuckles to herself before thinking, "' _Keep a close eye on him?'_ _What was I thinking, this guy's already figured out both how to see through my Imperial Arm's ability and how to exploit it. This guy's ridiculous... Maybe he is a spy after all... But, if he's a spy...then..._ " "So, why exactly did you tell me this? Did the General order you to?", Chelsea questions the boy as she finishes dusting the last of the sand off herself.

"Because it's a flaw that could end up getting you killed in action, and I won't allow anyone else to die, not as long as I can help it.", Minazuki replies as he stands up and takes his leave, walking off on his own.

Chelsea chuckles to herself and says, "I didn't really take you for the type to try to protect everyone, Minazuki. You seem more like the kind of guy to accept death as a statistic and move on."

"Well, I guess you misinterpreted me as a person then.", the dusk-haired boy replies as he walks off toward the new training ground to train. "I'm off to train. Akame and Tatsumi went off in this direction, correct?", he asks the girl as he points to the northwest before he glances over his shoulder to her. As he sees her nod out of the corner of his eye, he continues on his path towards the training grounds, which causes Chelsea to let out a slight snicker.

" _Working himself to the bone again, huh? That guy just doesn't know when to quit..._ ", the smiling girl thinks to herself as she watches as the boy leaves to continue his training. With Minazuki gone, Chelsea starts making her way back to the base as she thinks to herself, " _Even if I can't face him one-on-one, I'll keep a close eye on him, just in case~_ "


	15. The Results

A month has passed since Night Raid first went into hiding and started their intense training to combat Esdeath and her Jaegers. Now, four of the assassins stand divided at the bottom of a large waterfall. Minazuki and Leone stand on one side while Akame and Tatsumi stand opposite of them, the only thing separating the two teams being the cool mist coming from the nearby crashing water. Minazuki and Leone have their Imperial Arms active and at the ready along with Tatsumi, who's dawned his Incursio armor while Akame is brandishing a standard katana.

At the top of the mighty waterfall, Chelsea, Susanoo, and Lubbock are sitting down as they watch over the four, waiting patiently for the battle to begin. Lubbock quickly stands up and announces, "Alright lady and Imperial Arm, place your bets now! Who's it gonna be!? Will the busty blonde and the earth shattering boy pull through, or will the master of the Demon Sword pull another win along with Tatsumi? Place your bets now!", as he pretends to oversee a giant tournament match.

Chelsea only lets out a chuckle at the boy before answering with, "Do you really have to ask that question? Leone and Minazuki might be good, but with Akame's experience and Tatsumi's Incursio, this is as good as decided for the two." " _Even with Quake's terrakinetic abilities and Leone's beastly strength, there's no way they can counter the one-hit kill blade, especially if she's backed up by Tatsumi's Incursio. Hopefully those two learn something from this pointless sparring match._ ", the orange-haired girl thinks to herself before turning to Susanoo to get his opinion on the subject. Much to her surprise however, the blue-eyed warrior has his sights focused on Minazuki, more importantly, his Imperial Arm.

Out of the corner of his eye, the horned man notices Chelsea's staring and bluntly adds, "I wouldn't count those two out quite yet. If my recollections are correct, Quake's a devastatingly powerful Imperial Arm in the right hands. It's last master even managed to obliterate an entire army on his own, though he had many years of experience over Minazuki, the power inside the Imperial Arm...it's still there...I can sense it." The stern, cold man reaches into his robes with one hand, pulling out a small gong and hammer as he says, "It's time for the sparring to commence. On my mark." With a quick wack from his stick, Susanoo hits the gong, its echoing ring signaling the four to start their match.

With the match started, Akame and Tatsumi speed into action, splitting up as they rush down Leone and Minazuki. Akame, with her incredible speed, strikes first, slashing at the busty lioness with a horizontal strike from her simple blade. Leone manages to dodge the blade by a hair's length before leaping away to retreat from the deadly slash. As she continues her retreat away from the master swordswoman, Akame follows after her, not letting her target escape for even a second.

While the girls go at it, Tatsumi tries his best to blow through Minazuki with a single punch, aiming his strike straight for the brawler's chest, but he sidesteps out of the way. But when he goes for a quick jab to counter attack Tatsumi, Incursio reacts to his attempted assault and a mouth opens up on the side of the armor, stretching out to bite down on the armored gauntlet. Seeing this, Minazuki manages to shift the dirt under his feet, pulling himself away from the deadly armor. Recomposing himself after seeing the living armor in action, Minazuki tries to come up with a plan of attack, thinking, " _So this is Incursio's adaptability in action!? When did Tatsumi master this!?_ "

Quake scoffs at his conduit's questioning before using his thunderous voice to scold the boy, shouting, " _Ignorant mortal, Tyrant is one of the few beasts able to come close to challenging me throughout the years! To say that this boy has 'mastered' their power is beyond your typical idiocy! His abilities are near limitless when pushed far enough! That simple-minded boy could never come close enough to comprehending the true powers Tryant can grant him!_ "

" _Fine, fine, just stop shouting already! I can't focus with you being so damn loud!_ ", Minazuki mentally combats the danger beast as he struggles to continue to evade Tatsumi's overwhelming onslaught. Ducking under the armored boy's whistling roundhouse kick, Minazuki sends a duo of stone spears jetting out in retaliation, but Tatsumi smashes the earth yet again, sending the masked boy's counterattack flying into the air.

The raw force of the attack manages to launch Minazuki off the ground and into the perfect position for Tatsumi to retaliate oncemore. With a powerful boot to the masked boy's chest, the emerald-eyed brawler lands the first strike between the two, sending Minazuki flying back with all his might as he thinks, " _I hit him, but I hit something hard...armor maybe?_ " Much to the armored boy's surprise, sand erupts out from Minazuki's sleeves, slowing him down to a dead stop. " _Sand!?_ ", Tatsumi mentally recoils moments before being bombarded by a wave of sand, forcing him back even further away from the masked brawler. The sand quickly entraps him, locking Tatsumi away in a sandy tomb as Minazuki turns his gaze back to his partner.

As he looks to the two assassins and their battle, Minazuki sees Leone's holding her own, but barely as Akame's coming at her at full speed, matching Leone's boosted speed almost perfectly if not being slightly faster than the lioness. Akame manages to get one over on the blonde however as she chucks her blade at Leone like a spear, forcing her to knock it up in the air with a quick kick to avoid its deadly edge. Using this small distraction to her advantage, the dusk-colored assassin switches to using close combat, managing to land a few quick blows on the taller woman, stunning her slightly before her standard blade returns from its trip into the sky, landing perfectly in her open palm. And with her opponent in a daze from her flurry of punches, Akame speeds past the lioness, only grazing her along her soft cheek, which barely drips with blood.

Realizing her own defeat, Leone lets out a light chuckle before sitting down on the ground and saying, "Guess I'm out. You three have fun." Giving her friend a kind smile, Leone looks up to Akame and tells her, "Now you better go easy on Tatsumi when he gets eliminated. He's been trying really hard lately."

As Lubbock raises a finger, the green-haired boy announces, "That's one down! The Demon Blade claims yet another victim, and a cute one at that, what a shame."

"Her movements were just too much for Leone to handle, not to mention that trick with her sword. Akame's really frightening when she wants to be...", Chelsea comments on the crimson-eyed killer's abilities as Akame turns around and rushes towards Minazuki.

The boy stands there, lost in shock at the sight of his partner being eliminated, before being thrown back into reality by the sound of a giant shockwave coming from behind him. The boy manages to glance back just in time to put up a thin sand barrier under his jacket to protect him from Tatsumi's fist, which strikes his arm and sends the masked boy hurdling back.

With his inner barrier shattered, the last of Minazuki's sand trickles out of its many newly formed holes as the boy forces his body to a stop, where he finds himself placed right in between the two assassins. With both of the well-trained killers coming straight for him, Minazuki takes a defensive stands with an open hand aimed at each assassin as he waits for them to approach him. Gritting his teeth, Minazuki thinks to himself, " _I can still do this. It might be two on one now, but all I have to do is make this a one on one and just keep the other one out... No pressure..._ ", as he tries to formulate some form of plan.

As the two assassins team up and unleash their attacks on the lone brawler, Akame attacking with a quick slash while Tatsumi dives in with a devastating kick, Minazuki counters with a dynamic punch to the earth, shattering the ground around them and forcing the two to retreat as the very ground itself rises up to attack them like small daggers. Akame doesn't stay back long though, as she instantly finds makes a path straight to Minazuki, deflecting the small shards of earth trying to stab at her as she closes the gap.

When she finally manages to get in range of her target, Akame unleashes a plethora of rapid slashes from every possible angle unto Minazuki, and the boy barely manages to keep up with her outrageous speed while parrying her razor sharp blade with his thick gauntlets. As the sharp metal grinds along the earthy scales lining the Imperial Arm, Minazuki pushes Akame's deadly blade back with every strike as he desperately tries to avoid taking even the slightest cut from the master killer.

Even though he evades taking even the slightest of scrapes from Akame's new blade, Minazuki's met with another issue; Tatsumi, who's just broken through his defensive wall of stone shards and is rushing towards him with guns blazing! The raging boy throws another powerful punch at Minazuki, rocketing his fist with all his might right at the masked boy as he lets out a frightening roar. " _Just one more solid hit and we'll wi-_ ", Tatsumi quickly thinks as he goes to strike Minazuki down, but his train of thought is instantly crushed when Minazuki meets the punch with a punch of his own, causing a giant shockwave that disrupts the entire waterfall's rushing stream and sends the lighter-weight, crimson-eyed assassin flying back, forcing her to use her sword to stop herself. " _He countered me!?_ ", Tatsumi mentally exclaims as his eyes widen in complete shock at his friend's reaction time.

" _I've got you now!_ ", Minazuki thinks as he clenches his free hand, creating a stone fist from the ground under their feet, before launching his new weapon into Tatsumi's chest, sending the boy flying up into the air like a ragdoll. And as he crashes down into the ground, Incursio reverts back to its key form and Tatsumi is rendered unconscious, his mind still spinning from his launch into the sky.

"And there goes Tatsumi. This one's getting pretty close now~", Lubbock notes, excitement ringing through his voice as he leans forward as he watches the match like it's a live tournament match.

Rolling her eyes at the childish boy, Chelsea scolds him, saying, "This match might as well be over, just look at Minazuki. It looks like he's completely exhausted after that last attack." As they all look down at Minazuki, they see he's barely standing on his own two feet, seeming to wobble as he tries to maintain his balance.

" _I had to use a bit of Quake's power, but I at least made it a one-on-one fight. But damn, everything kinda hurts... Did Tatsumi do that, or did I use too much power again..?_ ", Minazuki ponders to himself as tries to stay on his feet, as the red-eyed assassin rushes him down. With time seeming to slow down around him and his vision starting to blur, the boy thinks, " _I can't do it... My body's barely able to move after that last hit from Tatsumi, I don't have enough energy to take on Akame..._ "

And as the boy closes his eyes and his body halts all movements, Quake lets out a low growl before telling the unconscious fool, " _All of Hell will freeze over before I sit idly by and let some insignificant mortal make a mockery of me, even in this state! Get up mortal! Get up and fight!_ " After receiving no response, the God growls to himself before noting, " _Very well, if you won't fight...I will!_ "

Suddenly Minazuki's eyes jet open and his eyes are now that of a Danger Beast, glowing an ominous orange with their pupils being shaped like Xs as his body glows with a radiant earthy aura. With Quake in full control, he rushes towards the long-haired assassin at an alarming rate, causing her to launch her attack early in anticipation of his assault. Much to her surprise, when the crimson-eyed killer slashes down at her target, he catches the blade with one hand before clenching down on it, his grip holding her weapon like an unyielding vise. " _He caught my blade!? But, his gauntlet isn't protected on the-_ ", the speedy assassin begins to think before seeing the sand in her opponent's hand, which protected his palm from the sharp blade.

With his grip finally tightening beyond the metal's limits, the blade shatters in Quake's grasp, its many shards flying into the air and Akame's eyes widen at this. " _Checkmate._ ", Quake smugly scoffs to himself before tossing the deadly shards at the unarmed girl. Unarmed but not completely beaten yet, Akame manages to shift her weight enough to evade most of the shards, but fails to dodge the last one that barely scrapes the tip of her ear, causing blood to drip down the side of her ear and onto her pale cheek.

"And Akame's do- AKAME'S DOWN!?", Lubbock exclaims as he leans forward even further, nearly falling off over the waterfall's edge as he's left completely shocked by the master assassin's elimination.

" _This is odd... Minazuki's aura suddenly spiked back there... Was he holding back and playing possum this whole time?_ ", Chelsea considers as she focuses her gaze on Minazuki, his body still radiating with a massive amount of aura.

With her hand feeling the fresh wound, she pulls away from it to investigate her hand and sees the slight amount of blood staining it. " _He played me. I thought I saw an opening, but really he was pretending to be weakened..._ ", she thinks to herself, piecing together what she believes to have happened as she feels the texture of her blood in between her fingers. As the assassin glances up from her bloodied hand, Akame locks eyes with the God, his eyes focusing entirely on her with a seemingly rage-filled stare, sending a chill down the girl's spine. Taken aback by the unfamiliar eyes, the girl's grip tightens on her broken blade as she masks her fear with her usual cold and stoic exterior while preparing to strike him down if the monster were to run rampant any further.

Not long after their stare-down begins, the overwhelming energy coating Minazuki's body dies, only leaving the God with sharp pains throughout every part of his vessel. With every muscle in his human body tensing up in pain, the powerful God drops to a knee as he desperately grasps at his skull. " _I'm pushing it too far. I have to go back...",_ Quake begrudgingly admits as it relinquishes control back over to its conduit, his body falling almost face first onto the ground before Minazuki manages to catch himself.

Seeing her partner fall into such a weakened state, the lioness rushes over to the boy as she desperately calls out for him, shouting, "Minazuki!" As she kneels down to his side, she looks him up and down, searching for any sign of cuts or tearing, thinking, " _Did Akame get carried away and hit a vital spot without even knowing it!? I don't see any blood..._ ", as her partner holds himself in fuming silence.

With his body barely able to move, Minazuki fights through the pain to make sure his hands and feet can move, opening and closing his hands as he thinks, " _Did Quake take over after I passed out? I saw everything happen, but I couldn't move or say anything...It was like..like I was somewhere else._ "

" _That's due to the fact that we switched positions, you and I. While I was in control of your body, your consciousness was stored inside my core just like I am when you're in control, but unlike you I'm only able to stay outside of it for only a limited amount of time. But I would say it was energy well spent, keeping such a filthy mortal from claiming victory over a God, even if they would not know it._ ", the powerful dragon answers his conduit's mental questioning.

Tatsumi manages to pull himself up out of the crater he's been lying in and groans out, "Owwwwww! That one really hurt this time! Did Akame win yet?", before seeing Akame's face and Minazuki in Leone's arms.

"I would say this match is a draw.", Susanoo answers the aching boy after dropping down from the top of the waterfall to confront the group of tired assassins. The horned warrior walks over to Minazuki, checking his wounds as he remains unable to move in Leone's firm grasp. "He defeated Tatsumi quite swiftly and even managed to land a 'kill' on Akame, but the amount of energy he expended would've killed the average person, so I can only call this a draw."

Much to everyone's surprise, Minazuki growls back, "No, we all failed." And as everyone's eyes fall on the weakened brawler, he slams his plated fist into the ground in a rage, shouting, "We're still too weak!" As the other assassins look to each other in confusion, they turn back to the boy as he coldly informs them, "Even with this boost I just used, I'm not even half as strong as Esdeath is, not even close. Not only that, she has so much experience that there's no way we could possibly hope to outplay her or beat her with raw numbers..."

"It doesn't matter how strong she is, I'll take her down with one cut from Murasame! That's all I need to win!", Akame pridefully retorts the defeated boy's claim as she walks over to him, looking down at his defeated expression with a confident smile.

Minazuki however only gives her a cold glare before questioning, "And if you were to die by her hand before you could even graze her, what then?" The group falls silent, not having an answer to the idea, until Minazuki adds, "We can't simply bet on your skills alone, Akame. We'll need at least three backup plans in case things don't turn out the way we intended."

" _Befalla has always been a thorn in my side since the dawn of time, and even now in this form she's causing a scene._ ", Quake notes in a slightly irritated tone.

" _Befalla?_ ", Minazuki questions the God, unsure of what it means.

" _That is a story for another time mortal, but for now know that at the dawn of time there were many Gods, myself being one of them, that helped form this land into what it is now. Befalla was the one who handled the northern lands, freezing them into her own personal hell. But now, I believe that she is the source of the power this foolish General you're worried so much about uses._ ", Quake vaguely explains, causing the hairs on the boy's neck to stand straight up.

"Great, add that to the list of problems we have.", Minazuki grumbles to himself as he forces himself up on his feet, catching everyone's attention.

"Hey, Minazuki, you've been mumbling to yourself a lot lately, are you alright?", Tatsumi questions the brawler, causing the boy to jump a bit as he hears Tatsumi's question.

Minazuki stumbles a bit to find an answer for the boy before finally telling him, "Yeah, it's alright. I've just been running some scenarios in my head is all.", and trying to walk off, but failing as the sharp pain in his head returns, stopping him dead in his tracks. Grasping at his skull as the splitting pain takes hold, Minazuki nearly falls over from the pain, but his partner comes to his rescue, catching him before he can drop back down to his knees.

"Don't worry partner, I've got ya!", the lioness calls out as she catches the boy, throwing his right arm over her shoulder as she lifts him back up to his feet.

"That's enough training for right now, we should return to the base. I'll have to start making dinner soon.", Susanoo says, not phased in the slightest by the boy's sudden collapse.

"I guess that does it for training today. Man, I'm pooped.", Lubbock moans as he stretches his arms out to the sky.

"You didn't even do anything Lubbock. You just sat up there and watched them fight the whole time.", Chelsea mocks the boy, causing the green-haired perv to rush to his own defense.

"Hey, you didn't do anything either then! So I don't want to hear you running your mouth!", Lubbock snaps at her, pointing back at her as he bares his teeth at her like an enraged animal.

"You two, Mine and Sheele are all on your rest days. You aren't supposed to be doing any training.", Akame reminds the two loafing assassins as they look down at her from the peak of the waterfall.

"We're heading back. But if you two really want to complain so much, I'd be more than willing to spar with you two.", Minazuki growls up at the two from Leone's shoulder, causing a chill to go up their spines.

"I think we're good, right Chelsea?", Lubbock nervously replies as he holds his hands up defensively.

"Yep, we've come to an understanding. No need to spar with us at the moment.", Chelsea adds, frantically nodding with as she does so.

After shooting the duo a quick glare, Minazuki turns his gaze back to his partner before saying, "We're done here, let's get going.", to which the blonde nods and helps him start their trek back to the base.

" _Man, since Najenda made Minazuki the head of training, he's been super strict about everything. He's even working Suu to his limits._ ", Lubbock thinks as he and Chelsea make their way down the side of the waterfall before quickly rushing to join the others.

" _Though this training is a real killer, it seems to be working. I feel myself getting stronger and faster each time we battle. Even though I might've been the first to go down this time, I think I've learned a lot in the past month we've been here._ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he looks down at his hand and a smile comes across his face.

" _I wonder what we'll be having for lunch. I hope we're having meat. That would be nice._ ", Akame thinks with a bit of drool coming from her mouth as she thinks about the meat.

* * *

Later, after having dinner, Leone, Minazuki, Najenda, and Akame sit together at the kitchen table as Susanoo proceeds to collect some of the dirtied dishes. "Ahhh, Suu's food sure hits the spot! The fatigue from Minazuki's tough training just melts away!", Leone moans as she leans back in her chair and props her feet up on the table.

The crimson eyed killer turned house maid also starts collecting the dishes, helping Susanoo in his endeavor while complementing him, saying, "Yeah, it was really good. Thanks, Suu."

Susanoo simply nods in response as he continues to clean the table, not letting a single piece of stray food escape. Tatsumi rushes over to the horned man with his eyes filled with joy and a fishing pole in his hand as he begs the kind warrior, saying, "Suu, we're still going fishing tomorrow, right? I need some RnR."

Susanoo nods in response yet again, trying to finish the last of the cleaning while answering the anxious boy's question.

Seeing this, Najenda lets out a light chuckle before confidently leaning back in her chair and saying, "Didn't I tell you all, Susanoo is amazing! Do you all understand now?"

"And the Revolutionary Army just handed over such a useful Imperial Arm?", Minazuki questions the boss, doubt ringing true through his skeptical tone.

"Well, originally Susanoo was lying dormant in the Revolution's Vault for Imperial Arms, but he woke from his slumber in response to my presence.", Najenda smugly replies with a cocky grin across her face.

"Nice, Boss!", Akame praises the Boss, only further feeding her ego as the woman's grin widens.

"Well, how could anyone resist my charisma?", Najenda smugly suggests as she dramatically flips the bit of hair covering her eye.

With the table finally clean and the dishes set to the side, Susanoo lets out a long sigh before noting, "Najenda looks exactly like my old master did."

"I see...", Tatsumi says with as he nods to the blue-haired man, seeming to understand what he means but in reality having no clue at all.

Najenda leans back in her chair with her hands behind her head and as she starts to radiate with pure cockiness she cheerfully notes, "I'm sure she was a wonderful person."

"Could you tell us a little about them, if you don't mind, Suu?", Sheele requests as she sits on the nearby couch with an open book in her lap and a kind smile aimed his way.

"Of course...", Susanoo replies as he stops for a moment to remember his master from long ago. After taking a moment to remember his master's greatness, Susanoo looks over to his new master and passionately exclaims, "He was great man and a better General!"

The woman's eye shoots open at this as she swiftly slams her chair back down on its four legs and stands up from her seat, slamming her hands down on the table as she shouts back, "HE!?" With her face as red as the flames in the fireplace, Najenda hears the sounds of snickers coming from behind her. She turns around to see Leone and Tatsumi, who are trying their best lock away their laughter, but are starting to break down.

They can't seem to hold it in any longer before they both bust out laughing, Leone even leans all the way back in her seat while holding her stomach as she lets out her hearty laughter. "He says she looks like a man! Just what you'd expect from our _Boss_ , what a hunk!", Leone exclaims through her laughter, still holding her ribs as she tries not to fall in her sideways chair.

"Sis! You can't laugh that much! You'll get in trouble!", Tatsumi tries to tell the lioness through his heavy laughter, only stopping once they look up to see Najenda's cold, menacing glare beaming down on them. Fuming and with her metal hand balled up into a fist, Najenda wails the table with all her might, making a loud bang that gains everyone's attention. This along with her Danger Beast-like glare silences the laughing duo instantly, and when the Boss finally gets close enough to them, she them both a punch to the head with her mechanical fist.

Lubbock, who's sitting off to the side on the love seat in the nearby living room, glares over at the blue-haired Imperial Arm as he grinds his teeth together before grumbling, "Everyone's just falling head over heels for Suu. He's stealing all the screen time from me!"

"You didn't really have any screen time to begin with, Lub. You've always been a side character and you always will be.", Mine, who's sitting on the couch to his right with Sheele, scolds the boy in her usual cruel tone as she starts to eat her dessert, a piece of cake with light pink icing.

When the girl goes to take a bite of her sweet treat, she stops dead in her tracks and glances over at the sound of the door slowly creaking open only to see a small kitten walk in from outside. It lets out a weak meow which causes the pink-haired sniper to raise an eyebrow at it. As she notices the feline's stripped pattern and small figure, the assassin tilts her head and says, "Oh, a Margue Panther kitten. They don't seem too scared of people."

The kitten makes its way over to Mine before leaping up on the couch and rubbing its head and body along Mine's arm.

"W-what is it? You're not getting any, so go away!", Mine growls at the beast as the kitten continues to show the girl its love and affection. When it finally stops its rubbing, the kitten looks up to Mine with its big, desperate eyes, causing the girl to finally cave in, and as a reluctant sigh escapes her lips, she mutters to herself, "I guess it can't be helped.", before starting to cut off a piece of the cake for the kitten.

Seeing the assassin has finally let down her guard, the cat's eyes glisten with determination before leaping past Mine as it grabs the plate of cake with its tiny mouth. As it lands on the ground with a surprisingly loud thud, it's surrounded by a puff of thick white smoke and from it they see Chelsea on her hand and knees, holding the plate in her free hand.

The trickster girl turns to Mine with her cheeky grin and says, "I'll be taking the whole thing, meoooow."

"Y-you! CHELSEA!", Mine reels back as she shouts while her childish face twists in horror, her eyes widen in surprise, and her mouth gapes open.

"Oh Mine, you have far too many openings.", Chelsea smugly replies to the astonished girl before digging into the rich, velvety cake with the metal fork she stole.

"So you can even transform into animals, Chelsea?", Sheele questions the master of disguise, slightly surprised by her sudden appearance, but not completely.

When she finally finishes her commandeered snack, Chelsea gently tosses the plate on the nearby table as she explains to Sheele, "Yep, I can transform into whatever I want. Isn't my Imperial Arm useful?" The orange-haired thief then turns to Mine and continues to mock her, saying, "You'll have to lose more of those openings if you don't want to end up killed by the enemy, Mine."

"What!? But your Imperial Arm is completely useless in battle! Once you're found out, you're as good as dead!", Mine exclaims, pointing at the master thief as she growls at the false cat girl.

"That may be true, but that's just the limitations of a Make-up type Imperial Arm. However, that makes it even more worth it to surprise you. Your surprised expression just now was so good, you shoulda seen it~", Chelsea replies to the short girl's fury before walking away with her victory while waving back to her with a smug grin on her face.

"SHE PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH!", Mine shouts at the top of her lung as she lashes out in a blind rage, violently flailing her arms in the air, to which Chelsea continues to laugh at her.

* * *

The very next day, Minazuki, Leone, and Tatsumi are out subjugating some dinosaur like danger beasts that live in the area under Najenda's orders. The beasts are bipedal lizards with strong, muscular legs, stubby arm with three razor-like talons, daggers for teeth and gems in their foreheads. The three assassins are standing back to back, Leone and Tatsumi have their Imperial Arms activated while Minazuki has Shoryu's journal open in one hand while preparing to fight with the other. All three of them are surrounded by a hoard of these danger beasts, with no end in sight.

"Tatsumi, we'll hunt down the boss while you take out the trash!", the battle-hardened lioness roars to her armored companion as he stands by her side.

"No problem!", Tatsumi shouts back to the blonde as he readies himself for combat, focusing his sights on the swarm of monsters around them.

Taking a moment to glance up from his book, Minazuki looks over to Tatsumi and says, "Don't forget your training. These beasts might not be too smart on their own, but when they work together under an Alpha they're extremely dangerous, stay focused and try not to die."

Tatsumi just nods before they split up and the fight begins. " _These guys might be a bunch of giant chickens, but they still hit pretty hard for their size, and there's a lot of them too. I'll watch their movement. Avoid direct hits. Then eliminate them in one strike!_ ", Tatsumi thinks as he dodges two of the danger beasts at once before cutting them down with Incursio's spear auxiliary armament, Neuntote.

"Tatsumi, you dog, when did ya get good enough to use that? You're getting closer to Bulat every day, aren't you, Tatsumi.", Leone mutters to herself as she avoids a few of the danger beast, leaping over their combined lunges before taking them down with a powerful spinning heel kick.

Minazuki looks around, seeing the nearly endless hoard of deadly lizards, thinking, " _It's like there's no end to these guys. They just keep crawling out of the woodwork. And they're not smart enough to coordinate themselves, so they must have a leader. He's probably close by. Quake!_ "

Though he can sense the area around him fairly well, the farther the boy tries to sense, the weaker his special vision becomes, to which Quake scoffs at him, growling, " _Is this really the best you can do? Are you not my Catalyst? This is pathetic! At this rate, you'll never beat that idiotic General you mortals are all so foolishly afraid of._ "

With the God's insult fueling his frustration, Minazuki taps into a small reserve of the beast's inner power to enhance his senses even further, allowing him to sense a slight heartbeat off in the distance. As the mental image appears in his mind, the boy sees a large danger beast in the distance and on closer inspection it appears to be a much larger version of the danger beasts they're currently fighting. "I've found the Alpha. He's to the north of here, trying to hide in the shadows over there. I think I can eli-", Minazuki begins to say before he's met with a sharp pain in his skull. The boy nearly drops the journal in his hand as he grasps is throbbing head in the other. " _Even that was too much!? I only used a small fraction of it!_ ", Minazuki growls internally as he struggles to keep his footing while four of the Danger Beasts rush him down.

" _Like I've told you, foolish mortal, my power is beyond any human comprehension! Even this small fraction is far too much for your insignificant body to handle on its own._ ", Quake scolds the boy as he regains his footing, sidestepping two of three of the incoming assailants before landing a deadly punch to the fourth, his fist colliding straight on with the beast's jaw and sending it flying across the battlefield.

Noticing her partner's movements as he quickly blasts two more of the reptiles with his sand spears, Leone thinks, " _I've got a bad feeling about this, something isn't right... I have to end this fast!_ " Crouching down close to the ground, Leone readies herself before shouting, "Tatsumi, you cover Minazuki. I'll deal with their Boss.", and launching herself at an incredible speed toward the danger beasts' leader.

"Alright, just don't be to reckless!", Tatsumi replies as the lioness leaps into action, leaving him with a weakened Minazuki to defend.

After leaping over a majority of the hoard, Leone weaves her way through the last wave of reptilian bastards before finally reaching the giant alpha Danger Beast. The beastly woman leaps into the air and draws her fist back, preparing to rain hell down on the danger beasts' leader as she thinks, _"I'll end this here and now!"_ With a single punch to the back of the creature's head, the lioness sends the beast's skull slamming into the ground.

The beast isn't done yet however and shoots a fireball from its mouth at Leone, but she easily dodges the attack by kicking off of the stone wall to her right, sending herself flying into the left wall as she shouts, "Whoa, a trump card!?" Gritting her teeth in a rage, Leone sends herself flying straight at the beast, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she glares down at the alpha. The beast goes to attack the lioness before she can finish it off, but before it can manage to raise its head oncemore to attack, she lands a destructive hit right on the top of the beast's skull, sending its eyes flying out of its skull and blood gushing out of its mouth and nostrils.

With the alpha defeated, Leon stands triumphantly over her kill like a lion standing over a freshly killed elephant. After wiping the sweat from her brow, Leone glances back to the battlefield to see the hoard of danger beasts scattering in terror, seeming to screech out in fear as they run from Tatsumi's deadly spear.

As the armored boy pulls his spear from the corpse of yet another dead dinosaur, Tatsumi watches the hoard scatter and thinks, _"Looks like we won. They shouldn't be a big threat now without their alpha."_ The boy glances back at Minazuki, seeing the brawler has slightly recovered from his aching head and is making his way over to his side. "A-are you alright, Minazuki? You got another head ache like last time, didn't you?", Tatsumi questions the masked boy, to which he refuses to give an immediate answer.

Minazuki simply lets out an exhausted sigh before taking off his mask and saying, "The mission's complete, let's just head back to the base."

* * *

Once they're all back at the base, Najenda calls a group meeting right in front of the base. As she looks around, the Boss sees that everyone's finally gathered around and says, "My my, looks like you've all improved. You're all able to easily take out most of the danger beasts in this area now. I'm impressed."

"I can't even let my guard down for even a second because there are just so many of them lurking around, and there seem to be new ones popping up ever now and then too.", Tatsumi cheerfully replies with a slight smile on his face.

"I had fun doing it all.", Leone humbly adds, shooting a smile of her own at the boss.

"Also, the air is pretty thin around here, so fighting real battles in these harsh conditions should've also made your training that much harder.", Najenda adds as she looks to her team with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, I can kinda feel the change in my strength now.", Sheele notes as she looks down at her hands, closing and opening them as she feels her slightly stronger grip.

"Me too! I can feel the results.", Mine adds as she confidently pumps her fist with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Chelsea, what are your thoughts? How are they now?", Najenda questions the master of disguise, who takes a moment to look the group over.

After finishing her observations, Chelsea gives the group a warm smile before saying, "Yeah, they're definitely stronger than they were before. I'd even say they're stronger than the last team I was in."

Satisfaction suddenly springs across Mine's and Tatsumi's faces at the girl's complement and Mine thinks, " _YES! SHE FINALLY ADMITS IT!_ "

"However, you'll need a lot more than just strength to survive this world.", Chelsea coldly adds, her smile seeming to freeze over into a slight scowl. Mine's and Tatsumi expressions swiftly change to confusion before Chelsea says, "I've read the report. Bulat, he was a favorable person and fairly strong, but in the end, he was a failure as a killer." Mine and Tatsumi both reel back at the girl's harsh comments on their lost comrade. Mine opens her mouth, going to say something, but before she can Chelsea turns away from the group and starts heading back inside while telling them, "Bulat was too soft, and that's what got him killed. And you'll all get killed too if you stay as soft as you are now."

As Chelsea heads inside, Mine grits her teeth and says, "That Chelsea... Everything single thing she does... just pisses me off!"

Najenda lets out a light sigh at this before muttering to herself, "As always, Chelsea always has to be blunt and straight to the point."

Susanoo's gaze suddenly focuses on his master as he says, "We have a more pressing issue to deal with right now."

"What is it, Suu?", Tatsumi asks as his eyes light up with excitement, expecting another battle to be in the works.

"We need to cook all the beasts Akame and I brought back from our hunt. We can not leave a single one of them untouched!", Susanoo exclaims as he points to the large pile of beast corpses that they brought back from their hunt.

"It's getting late, so we should probably fill our stomachs before heading to bed.", Akame happily suggests as drool starts to drip from her mouth at the sight of so much meat.

"You two just live in your own little worlds, don't you?", Mine mutters to herself as the two killers manage to kill the serious mood in the air.

* * *

Later, after dark, Mine, Lubbock and Tatsumi are sitting around the campfire outside while Leone, Sheele, and Minazuki are sitting inside on the couch and love seat. Leone, being the everso curious type, is listening in on their conversation outside as Sheele and Minazuki are reading books, Sheele's reading a small story book while Minazuki's reading Shoryu's journal. "They're talking about how Chelsea was being an ass earlier...", Leone whispers as she slowly peeks her head above the window seal to see the three of them sitting outside casually.

"Leone, why are you watching them again?", Sheele questions the snooper as the purple-haired girl closes her book and sets it down on the coffee table.

"Because, I know they're up to something, I can sense it.", Leone replies as she quickly glance back over her shoulder to Sheele then back to the scene going on outside, almost like this is all some sort of conspiracy.

"Whatever you say. Just don't complain when you get caught.", Minazuki tells his partner as he flips a page in the journal and just keeps reading.

Their slight silence is swiftly shattered when they all hear Mine shout out at the two boys, "And while she's standing there shocked, I'll land the finishing blow and declare victory! It's the perfect plan!"

Sheele and Minazuki both glance over to Leone for an answer, to which the sleuth replies, "Mine's trying to convince them to help her prank Chelsea. How cute."

When she hears this, Sheele lets out a heavy sigh as she closes her tired eyes and says, "She's been getting herself so worked up over Chelsea lately, I'm a bit worried about her."

"That can only end badly for both of them. They'd be smart to refuse and relax before putting themselves through tomorrow's training.", Minazuki coldly replies as he goes back to reading the journal.

The door leading outside quickly swings open and they hear Mine say from the doorway, "All right? We'll carry out our plan tonight! And I want her left speechless, SPEECHLESS!"

Seeing her cover's almost blown, Leone leaps over the couch, landing right next to Minazuki before pretending to be asleep with her head in his lap.

Mere seconds later, Mine walks in through the door and slams it behind her before walking through the main room with a slight scowl on her face. The pink-haired sniper turns her sharp gaze to see the three of them before letting out a long groan and saying, "Isn't it a bit early for Leone to be passed out drunk again? Jeez." When she walks off to her room, leaving the three assassins behind, Minazuki can hear Leone's slight growl at Mine's comment, but she seems to be biting her tongue for the moment.

When they hear the sound of a door further in the house opening and slamming shut, Leone springs up and whispers, "Who does she think she is!? I don't drink **every** night! I'll show her! I'll prank Chelsea before she can, that'll ruin her fun! Calling me a drunk like that, little shit!"

Seeing the burning rage in the blonde's eyes, Minazuki closes his book and says, "You're getting yourself worked up over nothing. Just calm down a little."

"Yes, I don't think Mine meant anything by it, really.", Sheele innocently suggest, only earning her a glare from the blonde.

Still fuming after Mine's blatant insult, Leone growls back, "That brat's just lucky I don't feel like clobbering her tonight! Chelsea's taking her bath right now, so I'm gonna to go prank her!" She then turns to Minazuki, who still has his face buried in Shoryu's journal, and grabs him by his jacket's collar before dragging him off with her as she tells him, "And you're gonna help me, partner."

As the plotting blonde drags him along behind her, Minazuki doesn't attempt to fight back, only saying, "I didn't sign up for this."

* * *

After a long walk through the forest, Leone and Minazuki find a perfect hiding spot in a nearby bush as they slowly approach the bath. With a sinister grin on her face, the lioness thinks to herself, " _Mine's gonna be so pissed when she hears that I pranked Chelsea before her! And in the process, we'll get Chelsea back for talking shit on Bulat. Two birds with one stone!_ "

When they finally reach the bath, they see Chelsea is by herself in the spring, relaxing with her back against the stone wall and a towel around her body as she lets the warm waters relax every muscle in her body. "So, what's the plan?", Minazuki reluctantly whispers to his partner.

"Plan? Well...", Leone whispers before trying to think of a plan on the fly. She looks down at the ground and as she sees the grainy dirt, a light suddenly turns on in her head. "I got it! You can manipulate sand and dirt too, right?", Leone whispers as she starts to get fired up.

Minazuki just nods and quietly questioning, "Where are you going with this?"

"Well, when she's about to get out, you send in a little Margue Panther Kitten made of sand that looks exactly like the real deal, alright? Then, she'll probably wonder where the mother is, and that's when you send in a mother Margue Panther to look like it's about to attack her. And when she accepts her death, you have it hit her in the head as I say, 'An opening!'", Leone gleefully explains to the boy as her evil smirk turns into a full wicked smile as she tells him the plan.

Minazuki nods and in a second forms lifelike replicas of a mother Margue Panther and her kitten, even having their fur appear as a darker brown to match the dirt he's using.

"Alright, now we just send the kitten out there and-", Leone begins to whisper before turning back to the bath to see instead of Chelsea sitting in the simmering water, it's Susanoo! "Suu!? What's he-", Leone begins to whisper as she turns to Minazuki, but the boy covers her mouth and whispers back to her, "That isn't Susanoo, it's Chelsea in disguise."

"What? How can you tell?", Leone questions her partner as she takes another look at the fake, trying to see any differences compared to the original Susanoo.

"Look at the heart, if your beast senses work anything like Quake's sixth sense does, you should be able to see that aura near the heart area.", the boy explains to her, causing the lioness to raise an eyebrow at her partner before giving him a slight shrug.

Taking Minazuki's advice, she activates Lionelle's beast form and looks closer at the fake's chest, seeing that there is in fact an odd aura coming from their chest that usually isn't there. "I see, so that's how you can tell if it's Chelsea or not? The aura thing there?", the lioness asks as she turns to her partner.

They hear the water splash and when they look, Chelsea, still disguised as Susanoo, is standing out of the water looking back at something. "I know you're there Tatsumi.", she says, pretending to be Susanoo as she mimics the Imperial Arm's voice perfectly.

Minazuki and Leone both look over and see the Incursio armor appear out of nowhere through the mist, to which Leone slightly reels back. "Tatsumi, this'll throw a bit of a wrench in my plan.", Leone grumbles under her breath.

"Suu, how?", the caught boy asks, unaware of who he's really talking to.

"Incursio can make you invisible, but that's it. It can't make your presence completely disappear alone. Do not forget about this, Tatsumi. If you do, it will get you killed.", the master of disguise explains to the peeper in Susanoo's usual strict tone when he's giving advice.

"I see...", Tatsumi replies as he releases Incursio, hanging his head in shame and leaving himself wide open.

Chelsea lets out a single chuckle at this before delivering a quick chop to the innocent boy's head while cheekily saying, "An opening!"

Baffled and confused, Tatsumi holds the top of his stinging head as he looks up to see that it's actually Chelsea as the girl transforms back into her normal self, wearing only her towel around her body.

The master deceiver giggles at his shocked expression as his mouth gapes open in surprise before telling the boy, "It was actually me, Chelsea! I could tell it was you from your presence, Tatsumi. I guessed your intentions and thought I'd prank you back."

"You went through all that trouble for a prank? Transforming into Suu and waiting for me to try to prank you?", Tatsumi questions the mostly naked girl with his eyes filled with disbelief. He then drops to his knees and bows before saying, "I admit defeat. Your stealth skills are too strong."

Yet another girly giggle escapes Chelsea's lips as she sees the boy on his hands and knees before she smiles down at him and says, "Deception is my strong suit, you're ten years too early to think you can beat me at my own game. Are ya the type to get mad from me saying that?"

Tatsumi, with his gaze focused on the ground, tiredly replies, "No...I think what you said about the weaknesses of invisibility was quite accurate. I hadn't thought about that before. I'll make sure to keep that in mind for future battles."

Chelsea starts to talk about her story and how she joined the Revolutionary Arm while Leone turns to Minazuki and whispers, "Alright, we need to deal with Tatsumi first. He's still a bit green, but he's plenty skilled with his Imperial Arm, so I need you to hide Incursio's key. It's right next to him on the ground, so just hide it underground until our plan is done. He seems enveloped by this story, so do it now." Minazuki quickly uses Quake to hide Incursio's key under ground, just as Leone asked before she whispers, "Alright, everything's in place. Now, once she's done, we'll prank the both of them! This'll teach Tatsumi not to peep!"

They hear Tatsumi say, "You're pretty soft too, Chelsea.", before hearing the sound of water splashing against the ground.

"Now, do it now.", Leone whispers quickly as she elbows Minazuki in the side.

Following the blonde's orders, Minazuki sends the kitten out first, making it walk over to Chelsea. "And next time you intrude on my bathing, I'll-", she begins to say before the kitten lets out a loud meow. She stops what she's doing and looks over to the kitten with a confused look. "A Margue Panther Kitten? What's one doing here?", Chelsea asks herself, looking to the kitten with a raised eyebrow as it lovingly rubs against her legs and purs. Her face turns a bit red as it continues to rub against her bare ankle and she whispers, "Stop it, I'm trying to be dark here... I can't be dark with you rubbing against me like that..."

The kitten then looks up at her with wide eyes, which makes her let out a light sigh before groaning, "I guess I could hold you for just a second."

Tatsumi's left completely confused by the sudden chance in atmosphere as the frightening killer before him quickly turns into a cat lover, lifting the kitten up in the air gleefully as the boy watches in complete shock.

"Aww, you're so cute~ Yes you are, yes you are~", she babies the small cat as she holds it in front of her face.

"I wonder where its mother is.", Tatsumi says with a tilt of his head before Minazuki makes the mother panther release a long, deep growl. Minazuki slowly sends out the mother panther, having it growl as Leone planned as it slowly makes its way out of the forest.

Chelsea's and Tatsumi's eyes widen when they see the danger beast and the boy goes for Incursio's key only to find it missing. Thrown into a complete panic, Tatsumi internally shouts, " _Where did it go!? It didn't grow legs and walk away, did it!?_ "

The mother panther lets out a loud roar, which sends a shiver down both of the killers' spines. Chelsea cautiously places the kitten down on the ground before calmly backing away from it. "Alright, you've got what you want. Now go.", Chelsea calmly asks as she tries to motion for the panthers to leave.

The mother panther just growls and slowly walks toward her. Tatsumi moves between them, blocking the mother panther's path while saying, "I won't let you get to her!" Chelsea's surprised by this as Tatsumi shouts, "Now get lost!", chucking a washpan at the beast in an attempt to scare it off.

Minazuki however has it swat the pan away with ease before pouncing at the both of them, seeming to be ready to maul them to death. " _This is it! This is how it all ends!_ ", Chelsea thinks as she holds onto Tatsumi, forgetting that she's actually wearing only a towel for the moment.

They both close their eyes, preparing for the end to come swiftly, but are surprised to feel a thump to the tops of their heads. They both open their eyes to see the panther standing on its hind legs with its paws on the tops of their heads. "You two have way too many openings~", Leone gleefully mocks the two before she burst out into her hardy laughter.

"Sis!?", Tatsumi exclaims as he looks around in complete shock.

"Leone!?", Chelsea shouts in a fury, her crimson eyes burning with her rage.

The lioness stands up out of the bushes and lifts Minazuki up with her to share the blame while saying, "Yep, that's me! We sure showed them, huh, partner?"

"Minazuki!", Chelsea shouts as she desperately tries to cover herself while her face turns a dark red.

"I didn't sign up for this.", Minazuki grumbles to himself as he releases his technique and the danger beasts turn back into dirt.

"Dirt? You can make things out of dirt that look that real? I know you did that with Wave back then, but those panthers really had me-", Tatsumi begins to question the brawler before Chelsea cuts him off by wailing him in the back of the head and shouting, "That's what you're asking!? I'm more interested in why Leone had to bring Minazuki to creep on me bathing!"

"Well of course I'm gonna bring him, he's my partner, duh.", Leone replies to the furious redhead as she rolls her eyes at the outburst.

"And that justifies you bringing him into the bath while I'm completely naked!?", Chelsea frantically shouts, making sure not a single bit of cleavage or rump is exposed for the boy to see.

Leone gets a sinister grin on her face before coming back with, "Well, you didn't seem to mind having Tatsumi watch, so I just thought you liked all the attention, Chelsea~" The devilish blonde continues poking fun at the reddened assassin by points over the girl's arm and adding, "You're even holding his arm like he's your boyfriend or something, aren't you just cute?"

The mostly naked girl looks over to to her arm to see she is in fact holding Tatsumi's arm, and when he finally notices, she quickly lets go and moves a few feet away. "T-that has nothing to do with this!", Chelsea nervously replies, trying to keep to the subject at hand through her shaky voice.

Leone's grin somehow gets even wider as she thinks, " _Man, this is too good! She's all flustered now! All I have to do now is go for the killing blow, but what-_ ", and before she can finish her thought, she gets an even more sinister idea. She looks at Chelsea's towel and says, "Maybe I'll just...", before Chelsea realizes what she's intending to do. Leone starts making a grabbing motion while walking over to Chelsea and saying, "And now to put you in your place~"

"H-hey! I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not just gonna let you-", Chelsea begins to say before Leone uses her beastly speed to rush the flustered girl as fast as she can.

The lioness quickly grabs Chelsea's towel and rips it from her body while asking, "What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of me stealing your towel."

With everything exposed for all to see, Chelsea lets out a blood curdling scream as she covers herself, trying to keep Minazuki and Tatsumi from seeing so much of her.

" _Bingo! That's just what I needed!_ ", Leone thinks to herself with an satisfied grin on her face. She turns to see Tatsumi's and Minazuki's expressions only to see Tatsumi is covering his eyes and Minazuki is reading Shoryu's journal again.

"Are you two done yet?", Minazuki questions the blonde as he focuses on his reading.

"Hey, come on! I just took her towel! Aren't you guys gonna peek just a little? I put a lotta work into doin that.", Leone growls as Chelsea desperately tries to reclaim her towel, but without any success as Leone holds the towel up too high for her to grab so easily. Using her free hand, the blonde tries to pry away Tatsumi's hands from his face while saying, "Come on Tatsumi! You can look, it's all just a prank from your Big Sis!", but it's as if he'd glued them to his face.

"N-nope, I'm good. Thanks, Sis.", Tatsumi says nervously as he goes to walk, but stops right at the edge of the bath before turning around and heading the opposite direction.

Leone lets out a groan and says, "Hey Minazuki, you wanna peek at her? I know you're not the type, but if you wanted to she's right here..."

"I'm fine. You should've brought Lubbock if you wanted this as the end result of your 'master prank,' partner.", Minazuki replies as he flips to the next page of the journal and continues to read.

Leone reluctantly throws Chelsea back her towel while saying, "You two aren't any fun. I just wanted to prove who the alpha in this group really is." She turns around to see Chelsea's shocked face before saying, "And that'd be me!" Turning back to Minazuki, Leone tells Minazuki, "Alright, partner, our mission's complete. Let's get back to base and leave these two to whatever they were planning on doing before we got here. Have fun kids! Make sure to wear protection, Tatsumi!"

As Leone and Minazuki run off, heading back to base, Chelsea furiously shakes her fist at her and shouts, "Leone!"

And when they're finally a good distance away, Leone looks over to Minazuki and says, "Looks like I owe you another one, partner."

Minazuki gives the blonde a warm smile and says, "I'll be sure to use that debt to its fullest extent when the time comes."


	16. A Truly Dangerous Beast

Upon getting information that their new base was finally finished, Night Raid relocates their family yet again. This time, in a base much like their old one, made entirely of stone and hidden under a cliff side. As most of the group collects their things off the Air Manta they rode there, Minazuki and Lubbock are nowhere to be found.

"You know, this base looks a lot like the old one. Are we sure it's our new hideout?", Tatsumi questions as he looks the place over, noticing how similar it looks compared to the original base they lived in.

Akame nods in agreement before answering him, saying, "When you take into consideration escape options and ease of discovery, it usually ends up with this sort of design."

"I'm just happy we have a real hotspring again!", Mine happily notes with a genuine smile across her face as she lifts her pink duffel bag, carrying the overly pink bag by the strap she has thrown over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we should go together sometime. How about it, Chelsea?", Leone gleefully suggest as she turns to the redhead with an evil grin.

Chelsea's face turns slightly pink when she hears the blonde's suggestion and she quickly replies with, "Probably not with you, but I don't see why I wouldn't go with the others."

Suddenly, they hear Lubbock shout, "Najenda! I've finished laying down a barrier around the base!"

Najenda turns to him and says, "Good job, Lubbock.", before they see an arm bust out of the ground, as if it were a zombie rising from the dead.

Sheele and Mine both scream out in horror before seeing a familiar mask looking back at them. "Minazuki?", Sheele mutters in confusion as she squints at the mask.

The boy pulls himself up out of the ground, leaving a giant hole in his wake as he says, "I setup the tunnels as you asked. We have more options now when it comes to escaping the base."

And as the brawler patches up his mess, Najenda gives him a quick nod as she says, "Good. With that, our base should be fully operational." "Alright! Everyone once you've gotten all your things to your rooms, we'll meet in the meeting room! We already have orders from the Revolutionary Army!", Najenda orders and everyone rushes inside to fulfill them.

"Orders already? That was fast.", Tatsumi says with a slightly confused look as he picks his bag up off of the ground.

"No rest for the wicked, huh?", Leone notes as she gives her partner a quick smirk.

"Let's just get a move on. If we already have a job waiting, we should hurry.", Minazuki suggests as he starts heading inside.

* * *

Later, in the new meeting room, Najenda is sitting in her chair as everyone assembles in front of her. Once everyone finally arrives, she says, "Alright, without any further delay, we have new targets to eliminate. They're a new species of danger beast and apparently they've been showing signs of intelligence and an understanding of strategy. Individually, they're beyond strong and even martial arts masters have challenged them to test their skills and died in the process. Even now, they lurk in mines and woods to the south of the Capital. They feed upon people and livestock. The Jaegers and Imperial Army exterminate them on a daily basis, but it seems they're numerous and there are still many left. I'd like to hear all of your thoughts on the matter."

"If the Empire's having a difficult time with them, then I doubt it's a trap.", Mine notes in a somewhat uncertain tone.

As she lights herself a cigarette, the Boss looks to her team and says, "I guess you could call this helping the Empire... but one time wouldn't hurt, right?"

Welling up with emotions, Tatsumi passionately shouts out, "Of course! It's just circumstantial this time!"

"As far as I've heard, these beasts need to be properly exterminate.", Akame adds as she gives the boy a quick nod.

"Though, we should probably stay on our guard. The Imperial Soldiers won't quite see us as 'helping' their cause, you know?", Leone cautiously suggests as she crosses her arms and looks to the others for their input.

"We'll just do as our name implies and move at night while the soldiers rest.", Minazuki counters the lioness' caution as he looks to Najenda for her thoughts.

"We should leave such a beast hunt to the Jaegers.", Chelsea huffs, causing everyone to turn to look at her. She's leaning against a wall with one foot propped up against it with her arms crossed. "Taking such an unnecessary risk, that's just idiotic. Like I said, you're all soft..."

"We understand what you're trying to say, Chelsea. But, even now, these guys might be out there attacking someone as we debate this issue. We might be killers, but we're also allies of the people! Even if it's just to save just a single person, we should do our best to help eliminate this threat as swiftly as possible!", Tatsumi courageously replies to the the redhead, trying to fill his teammates with determination.

Everyone, including Chelsea, is amazed by his speech and the master of disguise says, "Well, I thought you would say that. I get it, I get it. If you really think we should deal with these beasts, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

Susanoo's eyes suddenly jet open as he glances over at the courageous boy and says, "Tatsumi, there's something very important I need to tell you!"

The boy quickly turns to the Imperial Arm and asks, "Yeah, what is it Suu? Is something wrong!?"

The warrior gives Tatsumi a quick nod before pointing to his pants and shouting, "The zipper on your pants is undone, close it! It's bothering me!"

Tatsumi looks down to see what Susanoo said was true and his fly was undone the whole time. He quickly zips it up and after a whole five seconds of awkward silence, Leone busts out laughing and shouts, "After nailing such a cool speech, you do that!? How uncool!"

"Hey cool guy, how's it feel? How do you feel!?", Lubbock mocks the boy through his laughter.

Mine just turns her back on Tatsumi as she says, "That's what you get for trying to be cool, idiot."

Sheele pats the innocent boy on the back and says, "It's alright, it happens to all of us at one point or another."

"Could you guys just stop mocking me!? I had something really good going there!", Tatsumi frantically shouts with his face turning a light pink and his voice cracking in shame.

"I'm sorry, Tatsumi... I noticed it earlier, but I didn't say anything. I just thought it was a new fashion statement or something you were trying.", Akame explains with a slightly saddened look on her face.

"Hey, I'm not that much of an open guy, alright!?", Tatsumi shouts back at the demon blade master, flustered by what she just said.

The master assassin suddenly crouches down and as she looks at his zipper, she bluntly replies with, "From now on, I'll pay attention and check every now and then for you. That's what partners are for, right?"

"NO, THEY MOST DEFINITELY ARE NOT!", Tatsumi exclaims at the top of his lungs as he hides his zipper from her.

Lubbock then poses, almost as if he were looking into a camera, while holding his chin and says, "I want to save the people, with my fly wide open.", in as much of a macho tone as he can muster.

"I will hit you Lub! I swear to God!", Tatsumi threatens the weaver as he grabs Lubbock by his shirt and aggressively shakes him.

"Don't worry so much about it, Tatsumi. Your fly was open for the sake of the people, right?", Leone mocks the boy even further as she pats him on his shoulders, all through her hysterical laughter.

"Perhaps you need more awareness training?", Minazuki suggest with a light sigh.

As everyone continues to bug Tatsumi over his zipper, Chelsea moves over to Najenda and asks, "I thought they were just like this when they were on vacation, but they're like this all the time, aren't they?"

"Only most of the time. It might be a little troublesome for someone like you, Chelsea.", Najenda happily replies with a slight smile.

"I'll be fine, but I have to admit, I'm worried. They all seem far too kind. And I'm afraid, that kindness will get them all killed...", Chelsea replies as she looks out to the group as they continue to tease Tatsumi with a slight frown forming on her face as she thinks about losing them.

* * *

That night, Night Raid was split up into three teams of three and Lubbock, Tatsumi and Minazuki were the team sent to check out the mountains. The three boys are walking up the path up to the top of one of the mountains in the light rain as Lubbock groans, "Man, why did I have to be paired with you guys and not any of the cute girls?"

"You don't have to act so disappointed you know. We're just hunting some danger beasts.", Tatsumi growls back at the green-haired boy as he gives Lubbock a slight glare over his shoulder.

"And we're positive there aren't any soldiers camping out around here, right?", Lubbock nervously asks as he glances over to the nearby forest, seeing no signs of a campsite as far as his eyes can see.

"I don't sense any nearby, and with the slight nip in the air, they'd likely build a fire which would give away their location if they chose to stay out here.", Minazuki explains as they continue on their way up the path.

"But according to the information we've gotten from the Revolutionary spies, the soldiers withdraw during the night if they're close to the Capital. You shouldn't act so paranoid, Lub.", Tatsumi adds to Minazuki's statement, trying to calm the boy's worry a bit as he turns his gaze back towards the path ahead of them.

Lubbock lets out an exhausted sigh as he focuses his sights on the brunette and says, "You know, a bit of paranoia isn't half bad in our line of work. Even Najenda believes this, so don't forget it, okay?", before pointing his finger at Tatsumi.

"Hey, speaking of the Boss, you always call her Najenda, huh. Why's that?", Tatsumi replies as he turns to Lubbock and the whole group stops.

"W-well, you see...Najenda and I...We have some history. We used to serve together in the Imperial Army. Back then, I was the fourth son of one of the biggest merchants in the region. I always got what I wanted from a young age and I could do anything skillfully, it was a boring life.", Lubbock starts to explain to his comrades as they all stop for his tale.

Tatsumi just rolls his eyes at the former royal and groans, "It must have been such a terrible life, all that money and freedom."

"It's a real tear jerker, shut the hell up and listen, you little shit!", Lubbock shouts before recomposing himself with a quick cough and continuing with his story. "During that time, Najenda moved to the region where I lived and even visited my father on Imperial business. The first time I saw her, I knew, it was love at first sight. To get closer to her, I volunteered as a soldier and used my skillfulness to climb to a position where I could serve at her side.", the boy continues, remembering the youthful Najenda he first met and the fire that ignited in his heart that day.

"So the real reason you're a member of Night Raid is...", Tatsumi begins to say before Lubbock lets out a slight chuckle and says, "Because of my love for her? Yeah, I guess. When we escaped the Empire, I changed the official records to say that we died. I'm gallant, aren't I? But, I haven't been rewarded. It's a real tear jerker, right? Honestly, I doubt I'm even Najenda's type. That's probably why she hasn't rewarded me the way I've been hoping these past few years. Who'd like some guy who's main talent is playing with string, right?"

Tatsumi gives the heartbroken boy a kind glance as he places a gentle hand on Lubbock's shoulder and mutters, "Lub..." The boy quickly does a 180 in his attitude, instead shouting at the boy at the top of his lungs, "Maybe she'd reward you if you weren't peeping on women in the bath all the time!"

"What!?", Lubbock exclaims as he reels back in disbelief at Tatsumi's claim. "There's a difference between having a crush on a girl and wanting to watch a cute girl bathe, isn't there!?", Lubbock refutes the boy's claim, shoving Tatsumi away as he refuses to accept his ideas.

"Yeah, but that girl will probably hate your guts since you're peeping on other girls all the time! If you set your eyes on the Boss and her alone, she'd likely see you in a better light!", Tatsumi continues, trying to show Lubbock the light, but the perv refuses to break his habit.

"I see, so what you're saying is that I should peep on Najenda. That makes a bit more sense.", Lubbock replies as he taps his chin and think of a strategy to get to Najenda when she's bathing.

Tatsumi goes to reply with, "That's not what I me-!", before stopping mid sentence, accepting his loss, and grumbling, "You know what, never mind."

Minazuki looks around and notes, "Still no signs of any danger beast activities. No dropping, no tracks, nothing. Is it possible they might've relocated already?"

"Maybe, nothing's catching on my strings either.", Lubbock adds as he checks his strings, only to find they're loose and limp like wet noodles.

Tatsumi looks over to Minazuki and says, "Let's take a quick look around at the top. Lub, you stay back in case we need reinforcements."

Lubbock nods and says, "Alright, but don't be afraid to retreat back here if you encounter an enemy."

"Alright, let's go then.", Minazuki says as he starts leaping up the side of the mountain with Tatsumi close behind him.

"We'll be right back!", Tatsumi shouts back at the master weaver as he uses Incursio's boost to help catch up to Minazuki, who's already at the top of the mountain.

Minazuki looks over the side of the cliff and skims the area for even the slightest movement, but finds nothing alive in the area. "That's strange, not a single living thing in this entire area.", Minazuki mutters to himself before trying to use Quake's sixth sense to find the monstrosities. As he closes his eyes, his mind is bombarded by the sight of countless tiny vibrations all around him, which sends a sharp pain through the boy's skull. Minazuki grasp at his mask as he opens his eyes and thinks, _"Damn, this sixth sense is beyond powerful, but it's beaten by the fucking rain!?"_

 _"The power itself isn't at fault, mortal. You simply lack the mental complicity to handle so many vibrations all at once. But that's what one should expect from a mortal."_ , Quake explains to the boy, the God's thunderous voice echoing through skull.

When the echoing finally stops, Minazuki manages to catch the sound of steel boots hitting the dirt behind him and turns around to see Tatsumi release Incursio as he takes a look around for himself. "Yeah, I don't see anything either. Is it possible they're all asleep somewhere?", Tatsumi says as he walks over to the masked boy.

"I doubt it, but I guess anything's possible.", Minazuki replies as he releases his grasp on his head with the pain subsiding enough for him to think about the situation further.

"If they aren't here, then they're probably somewhere else. I hope the others are doing alright.", Tatsumi mutters to himself, tensing up at the thought of the others in danger.

"They'll be fine. Let's just worry about doing our part for now.", Minazuki tells the boy as he places his hand on Tatsumi's shoulder. Minazuki's eyes suddenly shoot wide open as he senses a spike in killing intent far up above them in the sky. On top of that, he senses countless sources of murderous intent surrounding, lurking in the shadows.

" _So there were danger beasts here after all!?_ ", Minazuki thinks as he turns to see the monsters in disbelief before the larger source of the killing intent falls down from the sky and slams down into the ground behind them, causing a giant crash and dust to be thrown everywhere.

"What!?", Tatsumi exclaims as he goes to turn around.

Sensing the familiar murderous intent, Minazuki already knows who it is and thinks, " _This is impossible! How did she find us!?_ " He turns around and they both see Esdeath standing there with her sword drawn and a menacing smile on her face.

"I'm your opponent. I think I'll try out some new torture techniques on-", the confident General begins to say before she sees who she's actually talking to. Her face turns a bright pink when she sees Tatsumi's confused face and she says, "Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi begins to panic taking a slight step away from the General on instinct, but Minazuki remains calm and just tightens his grip on Tatsumi's shoulder. All three of them find themselves surrounded by the hoard of danger beasts that they sensed earlier. As horrifying beasts come out into the moonlight, Tatsumi shouts, "W-what the hell is this!?"

" _This is going to be tedious. I can't use my Imperial Arm now that she's here._ ", Minazuki thinks before they both watch her slice through the hoard like they're nothing.

One of the danger beasts that she only sliced in half managed to live however and starts to crawl toward Tatsumi, but she stabs her heel into its skull before sadistically saying, "You do not get to touch him!" "I've missed you so much, Tatsumi~", Esdeath calls out to him with an innocent smile aimed his way, her cheeks turn a light crimson as their eyes meet.

"Ah, General, it's been a while.", Minazuki replies to her innocent smile with a light wave. " _Since I'm still wearing my mask and she still thinks I'm a monk, we should be reasonably safe. I just have to lie through my teeth as to why we ran off when we did._ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as he tries to put together a means of escape from such a deadly woman.

"Ah, Monk, you're here too. Wonderful.", the blushing General greets the monk as she sheathes her blade and starts to make her way over to them. She quickly grabs Tatsumi and holds his head against her chest as she takes a deep sniff of his brunette hair.

"E-Esdeath...", Tatsumi nervously calls out to her before she replies with, "No doubt about it, that's Tatsumi's scent. You're the real thing. How dare you two run away like that... I could barely sleep at night without you by my side, Tatsumi~" "Why are you here!?", the panicked boy questions her, causing the General to only raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh, I've been ordered to help exterminate the danger beasts that have been terrorizing the area around the Capital. I was just out on a night patrol when-", the General starts to explain before getting a more serious look on her face. She turns to Minazuki with a sinister glare as she asks him, "What exactly are you two doing here? And why did you disappear so suddenly without any trace?" The woman's grip on her lover quickly tightens like a vice, keeping the boy from having any chance of escaping her grasp.

" _Ah, so she suspicious of us then? I'll have to lead her off the trail._ ", Minazuki thinks with a slight grin under his mask. "Tatsumi got carried away and chased after one of the danger beasts that was trying to retreat. I followed after him and when we were done, we headed back to find Wave, but he was already gone without any trace. After that, Tatsumi suggested that we go out and train in the mountains like Vagabonds. I followed him to make sure nothing bad happened to him that'd lead to his death.", Minazuki lies so excellently that Esdeath accepts every word.

"I see, so Wave was more ignorant than I first anticipated. I'll be sure to punish him myself when we get back to the Capital. Now why are **you** here exactly?", Esdeath says as she looks down at Tatsumi with a glare that could make any child cry.

Tatsumi takes a deep breath before breaking away from Esdeath's grasp and lifting up Incusio's key as he confidently says, "I wanted to test my ability against these new danger beasts I heard about, but we haven't seen any. I'm a bit disappointed honestly. They sounded pretty tough."

"Ah, so you're here to exterminate them too? Then our goals are the same.", Esdeath happily replies with a smile. She goes silent for a moment before giving the boy a cold glance and asking him, "So, did you get into the Revolutionary Army like you wanted to?"

"Not yet, but neither of you are going to change my mind! I'll get stronger and fight for the people of this land, even if it kills me!", Tatsumi courageously replies, remembering to keep to his story.

Minazuki gives the boy a stern glare and pretends to scold the boy, saying, "Tatsumi, I've told you time and time again, nothing good comes from getting involved in war. Even if you defeat the current evil, it'll just rise again in another form. It's an endless cycle of good and evil that's been going since the beginning of time, you can't just stop it so simply."

"Well if I can't stop it, I'll just break it! How about that!?", Tatsumi shouts back at the monk, pretending unleash pent up fury on him.

Esdeath just pats Tatsumi on the head and complements the boy, saying, "You've certainly gotten stronger since the last time we were together. You're definitely buffer, that's for sure. You must've been working really hard since then, huh? I know you can go even further than this, Tatsumi~"

Tatsumi nervously rubs the back of his head as his face turns slightly pink from her complement before saying, "T-thanks..."

"I've dealt with most of the danger beasts in this area already. If I had known you were here training, I would've left a few for you. Sorry about that. Let me make it up to you~", Esdeath apologizes to the boy as she grabs his face and pulls him close, rubbing her face against his while placing his leg between her's. "I'll do whatever you want, except leave the Empire of course. But still, that leaves you with a lot of options~", Esdeath seductively reminds him before leaning in for a kiss. The woman only stops as she and Minazuki both sense a presence suddenly appear nearby.

"Ah, it seems we have another visitor.", Minazuki notes as he turns and points to the rock the intruder is lurking behind.

Esdeath draws her rapier and with it razor tip pointed straight at the bolder, the General calls out to the intruder, shouting, "We know you're there, come out! If you don't, I'll just attack now!"

To their surprise, what looks like a man, who's dressed in a dark coat that hides his face and body from them with matching pants and shoes, walks out from behind the rock, murderous intent flowing out from under his white coat and even out of the hood. "I thought I hid pretty well, but I guess it wasn't enough for the Empire's strongest. I'm surprised that monk sensed me though. For me to run into you all here though, well, I guess playtime is about over.", the man chuckles as he reveals his shinning teeth with a sinister grin.

"it seems like you know more than you should. I'll escort you to the torture room personally.", Esdeath threatens the unknown man with an equally sinister smile as she releases her overwhelming murderous intent to challenge his.

"Sorry, but I don't think so. You three are going on a little trip, ya see?", the man mocks the trio as he pulls a small device out from his coat pocket. Lifting the item into the air, the man shouts out, "Shambhala!", and a giant ring-like symbol appears below the three killers.

As the ring begins to glow an ominous pinkish purple, Esdeath asks, "What's this!?"

" _Shambhala, a teleportation Imperial Arm! So that man's an Imperial Arm user too!?_ ", Minazuki thinks to himself as the three of them are consumed in a bright purple light.

* * *

As they escape the radiant purple light, the darkness of night is dispelled by bright sunshine and the mountain air is replaced with the smell of saltwater. They all look around to see that they're no longer in the mountains, rather they're on a beach front looking off toward the ocean.

"A beach?", Minazuki questions as he looks around at the seemingly endless amount of sand around them.

"This can't be happening... This has to be some sort of illusion or something.", Tatsumi mutters to himself, refusing to accept what just happened as true.

"I have a way to test that.", Esdeath sternly tells the confused. As he turns to meet the General's cold glance, she grabs his face and delivers a passionate kiss onto his lips. At first he doesn't know how to react, but as the kiss deepens Tatsumi closed his eyes and let it happen. As soon as her lips leave his, she turns away with her eyes focused on the ground, hiding her blushing face with the bill of her General's hat as she slightly pulls it down. "This isn't an illusion, I can assure you of that. The sensations are too real. The smell of the ocean, the cool breeze, the temperature, and humidity, it's likely we've been transported here by that man's technique.", Esdeath explains as she starts walking along the beach.

"So, we were sent to this location. Interesting.", Minazuki mutters to himself as he looks around for any sign of human life. Finding none, he tries to get a lay of the land with Quake's sixth sense, but as he senses the general area, he finds that this is only a small fraction of the island. "We should remain on guard. That man could've been a member of Night Raid trying to eliminate you by sending you here to die, General.", Minazuki warns the General as he walks over to one of the nearby trees to get a closer look at the fruit it has growing from it.

"No need to worry. If there are any traps, then I'll dispose of them quickly.", Esdeath quickly dismisses his warning as she continues to explore the terrain.

"So, how did he do it? Is he magic or something?", Tatsumi contemplates, earning a glance from the icy General.

"In the Empire, there are 48 super weapons called Imperial Arms. I have heard that within those 48, some have the ability to manipulate space.", Esdeath explains to the boy, earning a faked confused tilt of the head from her lover.

"I see, so these Imperial Arms are truly dangerous after all.", Minazuki notes aloud before giving the tree a quick punch, causing one of its few fruits to fall down into his open hands.

"So this is real then? Like, real real!? Or is it possible that his Imperial Arm just made this place or something?!", Tatsumi begins to frantically ask the two before Esdeath tries to quell his worry by saying, "Calm down, Tatsumi. I'm here. For now, let's look at our surroundings." The loving General makes her way over to her most precious Tatsumi and places her hand to the ground, causing a giant ice pillar to form under them, raising them high enough to see the entire landscape of the island.

"How rude, they left me behind.", Minazuki says before dropping the fruit and leaping up the many small spikes along the sides of the ice pillar after the couple.

With his eyes filled with shock and wonder, Tatsumi looks around in amazement, seeing that the entire place is surrounded by water. "T-the ocean, it's all around us... So we're on an island then?", Tatsumi says as he looks off from the side of the pillar.

"This is quite the view, isn't it Tatsumi? It's almost as if we're on a date, huh?", Esdeath giggles with a slight smile. She quickly wraps her arms around his neck and says, "How about it Tatsumi? A little island date, just you and me."

He feels the soft warm embrace of her breasts against the back of his head, causing his face to turn pink in shame as he shouts, "Hey, just wait a second!"

They hear the sound of thunderous bangs and crashes, and when they turn to find their source, they see a colossal danger beast rising up in the distance. It looks similar to Stylish's final form and has the number '1' painted on its chest. "A colossal danger beast!? So something like this existed!", Esdeath shouts in disbelief with a slight smile curling on her face.

Minazuki finally arrives at the top and says, "So you two noticed this beast as well. What should we do about it then? I don't believe it'll be the type of danger beast we can simply reason with."

Suddenly the beast starts bolting toward the three, causing Tatsumi to frantically shout, "It's coming straight for us! We need to do something, fast!"

With her cold gaze offering the giant nothing but death and despair, Esdeath prepares for battle as she says, "I have no mercy for hindrances." With a wave of her hands, the General uses her Imperial Arm to create a thousand ice shards and tosses them all at the beast while thinking, " _No beast will be allowed anywhere near Tatsumi! Not while I'm around!_ "

The beast takes the shards head on however, only falling to a knee in pain as it continues on with its life.

" _So that's the power of the Demon's Extract Imperial Arm. Amazing._ ", the baffled Tatsumi thinks to himself before she turns around to see him staring at her.

" _He's clearly impressed by my abilities. Now all I have to do is-_ ", Esdeath begins to confidently plan before they hear the beast start to rise up again. "Ah, aren't you just a stubborn one? I don't have time for you right now.", Esdeath growls at the beast as she prepares to strike it down once and for all.

"Um, Esdeath, is it just me, or does that spot on its head look fragile to you too?", Tatsumi suggests, earning a devilish smile from the woman.

Esdeath turns to him and chuckles as she replies with, "Ah, so you noticed it too, good work Tatsumi! As I thought, we're suited for each other!" Only placing her open palm on her giant pillar, quickly shoots a giant spear-like ice bridge out from the pillar, aiming to pierce the weak spot with all her might, but the tiny body that she was aiming for barely manages to dodge out of the way of her attack. "So tenacious, under normal circumstances I'd be more than pleased, but now you're just pissing me off.", Esdeath spits at the beast as she prepares to unleash a frozen hell onto the beast.

Much to her surprise, Tatsumi draws his sword and dashes across the ice bridge at a record speed. By the time the frantic General shouts out for him, his blade is already slicing through the weak spot, splitting the body clean in half. Esdeath watches in amazement as the giant falls to the ground, killed by Tatsumi's hands.

"Splendid. I thought I'd charm him by showing him my amazing attacks and how powerful I am, but for him to charm me even more...", Esdeath says to herself as she closes her eyes and places her hand over her heart with a slight blush coming across her face.

Minazuki sees another colossal danger beast coming in to attack them from behind, but he intercepts it by falling backwards off the pillar and launching himself fist first into the weak spot's face. Esdeath turns to watch the giant's body ragdoll across the island and then land into the sea from the sheer impact of Minazuki's punch.

"What power! Incredible, Monk!", Esdeath exclaims in amazement at the monk's raw power.

Minazuki turns to her and points over toward the forest, where a third colossal danger beast has risen up, only earning him a raised eyebrow from the General before she turns to see the beast for herself.

"How many of these guys are there!?", Tatsumi shouts as he returns to Esdeath's side, slightly out of breath after his second long dash across the icy bridge.

"I'll deal with this one personally.", Esdeath coldly replies before forming a giant ice meteor with a snap of her fingers, which she sends crashing down on top of the beast, crushing it entirely.

"T-that's on a completely different scale than any other Imperial Arm I've ever seen! How can Akame beat this!?", Tatsumi thinks to himself as he looks at the giant meteor Esdeath created.

* * *

Later on as the day passes, Esdeath, Tatsumi and Minazuki are eating a meal Minazuki made from the spices he brought in his bag and some of the local flora he found that he knew wouldn't be poisonous. Esdeath is sitting on a log while Minazuki and Tatsumi are sitting on the soft ground.

"It seems that was the last of them. So this seems to be a hiding place for new types of danger beast. At any rate, we're in quite the bind here.", Esdeath notes before taking the first bite from her bowl. "Wow, I'm impressed by your culinary skills, Monk! This is quite good!", Esdeath praises the masked boy before taking another sizable bite.

"It's nothing. I just threw it together with these fruits and spices. We should be focusing on our next move.", Minazuki modestly replies as he looks down, avoiding eye contact with the General as he looks to the half-finished dish in his hands.

"What should we do next, Esdeath?", Tatsumi asks as he starts to eat his food.

"We'll have to investigate our surroundings first. We need to understand as much about this place as possible before we try to find a way off.", the tactical General swiftly explains to the best of her abilities with her mouth partway full.

Tatsumi lets out a slight chuckle and says, "I didn't think you'd be the type to talk with your mouth full.", as he looks to the woman with an innocent smile.

Her face quickly turns a bit red from shame and she says, "It's a poor habit I have. I'm sorry."

He starts waving his hands defensively while saying, "No, it's not a bad thing, not at all. I actually think it's kinda cute..."

" _What is he doing? Did he forget the fourth rule already? Never fall for your own lies, Tatsumi!_ ", Minazuki thinks as he hears his friend complement the lethal General.

Tatsumi just nervously rubs the back of his head as Esdeath smiles at his kind words. "Well, we'll need to keep a cool head and remain active. You never know what could be lurking around the next corner.", Esdeath says as she gets up and motions for them to follow.

"Alright, let's go!", Tatsumi courageously replies as he leaps up to his feet. " _Why did I say those things? I just replied without even thinking about it. This woman's the enemy, yet..._ ", Tatsumi begins to think before he begins to feel flustered as she looks at him. He turns his head away, trying to avoid eye contact before they start to head out.

As they adventure through the forest they do many things; Minazuki finds a crab that shakes his and Esdeath's hands, but attacks Tatsumi on sight. Esdeath puts a giant mushroom on Tatsumi's head and convinces him it's a brain eating mushroom when really it's a harmless piece of fungus. The General manages to stumble and Tatsumi catches her in his arms, which causes them both to blush. Minazuki finds a leaf that he blows into to make music, similar to a harmonica. Tatsumi and Esdeath chase a pig to see who can catch it first without killing it, but Minazuki ends up winning since it runs up to him for protection. And Esdeath gets overheated by the warm climate and her skin tight shirt, so she takes it off to reveal she's wearing only a bikini top underneath.

The sun finally goes down and the trio ends up back where they started, on the beach front where the strange man's Imperial Arm, Shambhala, first took them. As they all sit down with their shoes in the sand, Tatsumi lets out an exhausted sigh and says, "It got dark while we were exploring."

Esdeath laughs off his exhaustion and says, "It was fun though. I haven't had this amount of fun in a very long time. And in the process, I'm sure where we've been sent. We're on an uninhabited island fat to the southeast of the Empire."

"That explains all the crabs and southern flora. I was guessing we were sent at least somewhere in the south when I saw the stars.", Minazuki adds as he looks up to the night's sky.

"So we were thrown that far?", Tatsumi asks as he gives the confident General a confused glance.

"This also means we're the only people on this island.", Esdeath notes as she looks over to Tatsumi with a warming smile. She gently places her hand on Tatsumi's and her face turns a bit red.

Their moment is abruptly interrupted as Minazuki lets out an awkward cough. The cough manages to somehow kill the mood as she turns to realize that the monk is still here. "Oh, I almost forgot about you, Monk.", she sheepishly notes with a slight smile.

"Um, Esdeath, if we're all this way from the Capital, then how are we getting back home?", Tatsumi questions the woman, to which she smiles down at him.

As she glances down at her lover with the most loving look she can muster, she tells the two, "I think I have a plan for that, but I'll need both of you to help, all right?"

Minazuki simply nods as Tatsumi shout, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

" _She's already found a way off the island? We'll just have to go with her for now and find a way to escape later. That's our best plan of action for now._ ", Minazuki thinks as he sits there with Tatsumi and Esdeath, looking up at the full moon.


	17. Melting the Frozen Past

"Alright, let's hear it. What's the plan?", Tatsumi asks as he rubs his hands together, ready to get to work on the escape plan.

"Well, I have two plans actually. The first one is this.", Esdeath answers the boy as she points down at a glowing symbol on the ground. It resembles the symbol from before at the mountain, but it's smaller.

"W-where did that come from!?", Tatsumi questions as he looks to the glowing sigil, his eyes widening in confusion as its dim light shines before them.

"I think it's a marker for where that mystery man's Imperial Arm can teleport.", Esdeath explains as she looks over the marking on the ground, her cold glare being as well calculated as always.

"So, we can only move to places marked like this?", Tatsumi suggests as he crouches down to inspect the familiar symbol for himself, feeling it with the back of his hand only to find no heat coming from the strange marking, only light.

Esdeath looks to the young boy with a kind smile as she nods at his way of thinking, and Minazuki, with a hand over the chin of his mask, adds, "That makes sense. He can probably only move a few people at a time, so three to four might be his limit. And to move us such a large distance likely took a great deal of energy."

Esdeath looks to the monk with a sly grin as she snaps her fingers and says, "That's exactly what I was thinking! I doubt he'll be able to teleport like that often if it takes that much energy. I wonder what other limitations this Imperial Arm has?"

"So if we keep watching this spot, the gate might just open and send us back?", Tatsumi asks as he stands up and joins his two mentors.

Turning her attention to her lover, giving him both a loving smile and tender glance as she adds, "Possibly, or it may send us to some other point this portal may be linked to, that part is still unknown for sure. This is just our first way back."

"Then what about the second way?", Minazuki questions the General who turns to the monk with a well hidden grin.

"Before we get to that, we should setup a camp here, so we can watch over this spot while we talk about the second plan and put it into motion. Monk, would you kindly go collect some wood to make the fire with? Tatsumi and I will gather stones to build the base.", Esdeath answers as she looks to Minazuki for his aid.

"Well, I'd need a-", Minazuki begins to note before Esdeath tosses him an ax made of ice. "Oh, well, I guess I'm off to go collect some wood. I'll be back in a moment.", Minazuki says as he takes the ax and leaves to fulfill his new task.

After the monk disappears from their sight, Tatsumi starts walking towards the forest as he yawns, "Well, we should get moving. Those rocks won't find themselves." He stops as he hears the sound of rocks clanking together. He turns around to see Esdeath pulling rocks out of her jacket pockets and forming a fire pit with them.

"I've already gathered some rocks for the pit.", Esdeath says as she finishes the fire pit. "There we go~ All done! Now, for my real plan...!", Esdeath notes before looking over to Tatsumi to see his confused expression as the boy tilts his head. The woman quickly grabs him, greedily pulling her lover's face into her chest while squealing, "We're finally alone together! Let's get to know each other more!"

She pulls Tatsumi down and as they fall onto the ground together, the woman rolls on top of him and pins his hands to the dirt, firmly holding his sweaty hands in her warm, gentle grasp with one hand as she places her other on his chest. "Wait! Time out!", Tatsumi begs as his heart begins to race, pounding ever so hard against his ribs as he feels the woman's warmth radiating off of her body through their clothes.

"You want me to stop? Then let me hear your story. First, I'd like to know where you learned to wield a sword.", Esdeath replies as she traces hearts along his chest with her finger.

"In my village, there was a retired soldier who knew a lot about martial arts and swordplay. He was a good teacher and...", he begins to explain before she says, "I see, so that's where you learned to smith as well?" Taking the opportunity she so generously gave him, Tatsumi swiftly nods as he adds, "I was thinking I should learn as many things so I could make a lot of money in the Capital. He taught me how to cook and showed me how to make a bomb once."

"You must be skillful to have learned so much.", Esdeath kindly notes as she places the palm of her hand over his heart. " _His heart, it's going crazy~ This has to be love~_ ", the woman gleefully thinks to herself as she feels the boy's pounding heart through his shirt.

"Well, you're pretty skillful too, Esdeath. You look like you could do nearly anything.", Tatsumi replies as a slight blush comes across the boy's face at the complement, causing the cold General's heart to skip a beat at his praise.

"Actually, when it comes to certain things, I'm actually quite ignorant if I'm being honest. Outside of combat, I'm not exactly the most elegant of people...", she refutes with a warm smile and light chuckle at her own expense.

" _This is the perfect time for me to gather information from her! And, since she thinks of me this much and I got her to think about it last time, I might be able to turn her this time._ ", Tatsumi thinks as he looks at Esdeath's loving smile. "So, what about you Esdeath? What's your story?", Tatsumi asks the woman with a warm smile aimed her way.

"Me? Well, I'm from the Northern Frontier lands. Have you ever heard of the Partas clan?", Esdeath replies as she pulls herself off of the boy and climbs onto his lap, keeping him from escaping while giving him some room to breath.

As he sits up, the young brunette shakes his head no and says, "I can't say I have, no."

Esdeath lets out a reluctant sigh and says, "They're a hunting tribe, with their specialty being danger beasts. I grew up there as the daughter of the tribe chief. Since you were so willing to tell me about yourself, I'll tell you about my past too~" "When I was a girl, I'd go out into the wilderness and hunt danger beasts to try to impress my father. I'd usually bring it back to the village and when I'd get there he'd have a beast ten times the size of mine. He was quite the man, I wish you could've met him, Tatsumi.", Esdeath explains to the boy, seeming to break their eye contact as she mentions her father.

Tatsumi notices this and asks her, "What? Is your village hard to get to or something? I guess it would be considering it's that far north, right?"

As she hears the boy's questions, the woman tenses up, grasping at the skirt of her uniform as she tries to force herself to continue. "It isn't exactly that simple. You see, the danger beasts and us...we exchanged lives as we did everything we could to each other. One day, when I was out hunting, I caught a rare species of Evilbird, one that was three times my size and at least over four times my weight. I was certain I'd finally caught something that my father couldn't top so easily, so I dragged my prize back to the village to show it to him. But when I got there, my village was littered with the corpses of my fellow villagers and covered in fire. Among the bodies, I found my father. He'd taken six spears to the chest, yet he was still alive. He told me that we were attacked by the northern tribe. He said that it was his own fault for being weak before he died. After that, I kept hunting danger beasts to survive. Eventually, when prey grew scarce, I signed up for the Imperial Army. Then it was just a matter of changing the targets from danger beasts to humans.", Esdeath continues with her tone freezing to a cold, emotionless state as she recalls that fateful day when she lost her father.

"So, is that why you did what you did to the northern tribe? Why you buried hundreds of thousands of them alive?", Tatsumi asks the General with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"That was just my orders. I held no personal vendetta against the northern tribe for what they did. My people lost because they were weak. That's what I grew up with at least. Is there anything else you wanted to hear? I'll tell you anything about me.", Esdeath answers the boy as she leans in closer to him, slightly closing the gap between them even further as they get to know one another.

As if a light suddenly flicked on in the boy's brain, Tatsumi curiously asks, "Wait, you didn't mention your mother. What happened to her?"

Esdeath tenses up again at the boy's questioning, a slight frown coming across her face as she reluctantly answers the boy, saying, "My mother...my mother died when I was young. Our village was attacked and a group of danger beasts tore her apart before eating her. My mother and my father...they were both very dear to me...", before pulling a piece of paper from the left chest pocket of her shirt. It's folded over multiple times over, and as she unfolds it, a light smile comes across her face. She gently hands Tatsumi the paper and as he sees a tough man standing next to a beautiful woman, who looks similar to Esdeath in both form and stature, who are both holding onto a small child with long blue hair dressed in tribal wear. "My mother was always great at these kinds of things... Cooking, art, singing...outside of looks I'm nothing like her. I can barely do any of that...", the poor woman begins to belittle herself as she remembers her mother's many talents.

Tatsumi quickly grabs the woman by her shoulders and exclaims, "Stop saying that!", causing Esdeath to snap out of her sorrow and look to the boy with a blank stare. "I don't know what you think of yourself, Esdeath, but I think you're amazing! You're strong, courageous, and sure you can be a bit harsh sometimes, but you always mean well in the end, right? You're an amazing woman, Esdeath, not just to your subordinates, but to me as well!", with his heart in full control of his actions, forgetting to stop and think about what he's saying and doing.

Her eyes widen as she hears the boy's heartwarming words, and with a light blush coming across her face, Esdeath pulls him close into a warm embrace, holding her lover close in her tight grip. "I'm so glad you think that much of me, Tatsumi~"

 _"Too close! Too close! I have to get her off of me!",_ Tatsumi thinks as he nervously twitches in the loving woman's arms. "Could you, show me your Imperial Arm?". Tatsumi sheepishly requests as he tries to gently pull the blue haired lover from his chest.

"Oh my, you want to see my Imperial Arm? Very well, I'll show it to you.", Esdeath says as she takes she releases him and leans back, returning to the boy's lap with a warm smile as she wipes away a loose tear from her cheek.

Tatsumi is taken aback by this, his eyes slightly widening as he thinks, " _Was she...crying..?_ "

As the loving General tenderly takes the boy's hands into her own, she places the palm of his right hand over the tattoo on her chest. This causes a wild blush to rush across his face, feeling the bare skin so close to her breasts. "It was seven years ago when I finally reached the rank of General. Prime Minister Honest had brought me into the Palace's Storage room. Inside they had several Imperial Arms without users. The one that chose me, was the Demon's Extract Imperial Arm. It's a blood type Imperial Arm made from the blood of a godly danger beast from the far north. It was said that a single glass was enough to get the effect, but I knew the effects would be stronger if I drank the whole urn. After drinking the blood, my mind was filled with incredible destructive urges, but I didn't falter. I took control of my fate and the power of the blood became mine.", Esdeath explains to her lover as she closes her right hand, claiming the boy's left hand as her own as as she uses her other hand to guide his other hand's finger along the shape of her tattoo.

"Then, even now, the blood of that danger beast runs through your body!?", Tatsumi nervously questions the dangerous woman as he feels the demonic aura radiating from the symbol on her chest.

"That's right. But there's no need to worry, my love, I've tamed this power.", Esdeath says as she takes his hand away from her chest, and gently holds it in her own like she is doing with his other hand.

"So, is it because of the blood that you started liking torture?", Tatsumi continues to question Esdeath as he closes his shaking hands, embracing her warm grip with his own.

"Actually, I've liked torture from a young age. Ever since I was a little girl, I would remove valuable organs from Danger Beasts while they were still alive to make sure they didn't lose their value... But, as of recently...I've grown bored of it. It doesn't seem to entertain me like it once did...", the azure-eyed General replies as she looks down at Tatsumi with despair building up in her eyes, causing Tatsumi to raise an eyebrow.

"How recently?", Tatsumi quickly asks, thinking, " _Did she really give up torturing people? Esdeath, the Sadist General?_ "

The woman places a finger on her chin and closes her eyes as she takes a moment to recall the exact date before answering with, "Well, I'd have to say, since the night we spent together."

" _So, I did change her, even if it is just a little! I had an effect! Maybe I should make one more push!?_ ", Tatsumi mentally exclaims as he continues to give the woman a confused. "Esdeath...", he sheepishly calls out to her, causing her smile to return to her face at the sound of him saying her name.

"Yes?", she replies as she opens her eyes to look at him with a loving smile.

"I hate to bring this up, because I know this will make you mad, but-", her anxious lover begins to say before Esdeath cuts him off by asking, "You're about to ask if I'll leave the Empire and join the Revolutionary Army with you, aren't you, Tatsumi?", her tone coming off as harsh and cold as she questions him.

Tatsumi stays quiet, leaving a small moment of awkward silence between the couple before the loving woman replies with, "I've been giving it some thought...and if I didn't have so much responsibility, then maybe I'd take you up on your offer, Tatsumi. But I have subordinates that I have to lead, an army to lead, many of which want to protect this Empire until the day they die. I won't betray them, I'm sorry, I really am."

Seeing his efforts weren't in vein, the boy just lets out a slight chuckle before warmly replying with, "That's another thing that's amazing about you, Esdeath. You're loyal to your comrades no matter what. Thank you, Esdeath, for taking it into consideration. That means more to me than you may know." He looks up to her and sees the smile on her face as he thinks, " _I probably shouldn't, right? This is a bad idea. This is a REALLY bad idea. Oh well, here I go._ "

"Hey Esdeath.", Tatsumi casually calls out to the General one more time, causing her to turns his way as she starts to say, "What is i-", but before she can finish, he kisses her on the lips. The woman's eyes shoot open at this sudden embrace before she warms to it, embracing him back with an equally passionate kiss as they continue to lock lips, her hand firmly placed on the back of the boy's head to keep him from pulling away. The loving couple continue their kiss only for a moment before they're interrupted by the sound of someone heading in their direction.

They quickly stop kissing and turn to see it's Minazuki who's coming with the fire wood. " _W-when did he_ -", Esdeath begins to panic as she manages to pull herself away from Tatsumi to turn to the monk glaring at them through his mask.

"You two should stay more aware of your surroundings. I could've easily been an enemy or some sort of beast and you both would've been dead or worse. Now, let's get this fire built.", Minazuki scolds the couple as he gently places the pieces of wood down on the ground next to their fire pit.

* * *

After getting the campfire roaring with a little know-how and a match from Esdeath's jacket pocket, everyone sits around the fire, holding their hands out towards the flames to warm themselves. "Ah, that feels nice.", Minazuki moans as he rubs his hands in front of the burning flames. The monk looks over to the couple to see Esdeath sitting behind the fidgeting Tatsumi with her arms wrapped around him like a warm scarf.

The brunette seems pretty calm on the outside, giving his friend a warm smile as he feels the General's breasts against his back, while on the inside, he's mentally shouting to himself, " _Yep, that was a bad idea! I knew it! She's probably going to hold me like this forever now! We'll never escape, never!_ "

" _What was that idiot thinking!? Kissing Esdeath!? Who knows how this'll turn out now!?_ ", Minazuki mentally growls to himself as he keeps his cool and composed outer shell.

"So, what's that second plan then, Esdeath? You did mention a second plan, didn't you?", Tatsumi asks as he looks up to Esdeath, who's looking down at him with her eyes filled with love and desire.

"Yes, within the many species of danger beasts, there are some of which you can ride upon if properly tamed. I've mastered the art of taming danger beasts, so it'd be a simple matter for me. If I'm recalling correctly, this area is home to Air Mantas and Ocean Dragons, so if we take care to keep a close watch on the skies, one should fly by eventually.", Esdeath explains in a slightly saddened tone as her smile fades from her face at the thought of leaving such a wonderful place.

Looking up to the sky, Tatsumi spots a lone Air Manta flying high above the clouds and points up to it as he asks, "Is that one of the things you were talking about?"

Esdeath looks up and grits her teeth at the sight of the large manta. "Of all the... Alright! I'll get it!", the woman grumbles to herself as she swiftly pulls herself up from the dirt, throwing on her hat while buttoning up her shirt as she prepares to intercept the beast.

"What are you going to do from down here!? That things incredibly far away!", Tatsumi shouts to her as he tries to stop her, but the General barely flinches at her lover's warning.

"I'm going to shoot it down with an ice arrow, then I'll break it in! I won't let it get away from us! We're heading back to the Capital together!", Esdeath passionately exclaims as she rushes off to catch the beast, drawing her blade as she forms a series of small ice shards to shoot at the flying manta.

Suddenly, the symbol near their camp begins to glow with an even brighter purple light, earning the boys' attention. The Night Raiders look over to see the sigil grow to its original large size as energy begins to pour our from inside its center. A gleeful smile comes across Tatsumi's face when he sees it and he quickly thinks, " _Yes! We can finally escape!_ " The brunette looks back however, seeing Esdeath as she's chasing after the Air Manta, making an icy staircase to climb up into the proper range for a strong enough attack. Remembering all the time he spent with her and the passionate kiss they shared a moment ago, Tatsumi clenches his fist, not certain what to do.

"Don't burn any bridges, Tatsumi. Especially with that woman.", Minazuki quietly warns him as the monk places a firm hand on the frustrated boy's shoulder.

Giving his friend a stern nod, Tatsumi suddenly turns around to the General and shouts at the top of his lungs, "Esdeath! The portal seems to be open, we're heading through!"

Hearing this, Esdeath whips around to see Tatsumi and Minazuki walking through the portal. "Wait! Tatsumi!", she exclaims as she desperately rushes after him. As she goes through the portal however, Esdeath ends up at the same mountain top from a day ago. "This is...the summit from yesterday.", she notes as she realizes where she's been sent to. The frantic General desperately looks around for Tatsumi, checking every nook and cranny around the area only to find he's nowhere to be found. "Could it be he ran away while I was going through? No, not after that. He wouldn't just run away. It seems like the portals don't always send you back to the original location. How troublesome.", she growls to herself in frustration as she sheathes her sword. The woman reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper, which she then unfolds to reveal the picture she drew of Tatsumi and herself earlier that day. Pressing the page close to her heart, Esdeath smiles at the thought of her lover's warm hands in her own and his loving smile as she tells herself, "We'll meet again, I feel it in my heart. I know it! Tatsumi, next time I see you, I'll make you mine!" The General returns the precious drawing to her pocket before taking her leave, leaving the mountain and the island where she spent such a precious day with her lover behind.

When she's finally a good distance away to the point where seeing them is beyond impossible, Minazuki shatters the rock covering the hole the killers were hiding in. As the two crawl out and gasp for air, Tatsumi says, "That was way too close. I thought she was going to sense us for sure!"

Minazuki glares at Tatsumi before delivering a swift punch to the top of the brunette's thick skull, leaving a giant lump.

"Hey, what was that for!?", Tatsumi asks as he rubs the fresh bump on his head, trying to numb the pain ever so slightly.

"Because you're an idiot! What exactly was that back there with Esdeath!?", Minazuki scolds the boy, causing Tatsumi to blush wildly as he looks down at the ground, unable to answer. Seeing he isn't going to get an answer, Minazuki lets out a loud growl before telling the boy, "Don't fall for your own lies. You can lie so well that it seems true to everyone around you, but it's still a lie. It isn't the truth, Tatsumi. You aren't a blacksmith, you weren't trained by some retired soldier, you're not her friend, you're her enemy, her target! If she knew you were a member of Night Raid, you'd be tortured for who knows how long until you told her everything, then she'd kill you and leave your corpse for the rats to eat."

Seeming to ignore his friend's advice, Tatsumi walks by Minazuki as he mumbles back, "Let's just return to base. The Boss will want a full report on this."


	18. The Path of Peace

As he enters his inner psychi, Minazuki finds himself walking up a steep mountain trail. The path is littered with sharp rocks jetting out from the nearby wall, blocking the path almost entirely as Minazuki climbs over and crawls under them to continue forward. When he finally makes it to the end of his short journey, he finds Quake resting at the peek of the mountain, curled up in his slumber before opening a single eye to glare at the boy.

"What is it now, Mortal? Why are you in my realm?", the God growls as he closes his eye, trying to return to his slumber.

As the boy approaches the Danger Beast, he looks to it without a hint of fear and asks, "Did you have some time? I wanted to see if you'd tell me that little story you mentioned the other day. I want to know everything."

The beast's eyes gently open to the boy's request, giving him a cold glance before shutting once more. After letting out a light groan, the beast starts to stand as it says, "Very well, but it's a story old as time itself, so you'd best pay attention the first time I tell it, for I will not be telling you this again." As Quake towers over Minazuki, meeting the boy's curious gaze with a cold glare, he shifts his sights off to the distant mountains. "At the dawn of time, there was nothing. There was only two beings that lived in the endless void, Yami and Hikari. These two beings were the creators of light and darkness itself. On top of that they created the very world we stand upon along with all of life itself.", the God explains as his gaze sharpens on the earthy mounds in the distance. As the God tightens his focus and his claws dig into the tuff ground below him, the earth begins to tremble and the mountains in the distance begin to shatter, forming two oddly shaped figures. The left mountain is shaped like half of a man enveloped in what looks like a cloak of stars and mist all made from obsidian while the other is a woman wearing long robes with lengthy locks of curly hair, a kind smile seeming to show across her face.

"So there were really other Gods. Were they two of the six Gods you told me about?", Minazuki questions as he looks at the statues in the distance, his question only earning him a stern shake of the head from the dragonic figure.

The God shifts his gaze back down to the mortal by his side and answers him in his usual scolding tone, saying, "Not at all, they stood high above us at the top of Godhood, the Gods of Gods so to speak. To put it into terms your human mind can understand, even with all five of my siblings and my powers combined, we wouldn't have enough power to even compare to them. They could completely wipe us out of existence with a thought if they so pleased, though that wasn't exactly how they preferred to handle situations. They were much kinder souls than you'd find anywhere in this Empire."

"They sound amazing! What happened to them?", Minazuki asks his partner, causing the Godly figure to turn his gaze to the ground, his eyes seeming to fill with despair as he remembers a past long since left buried.

"After creating this land, Hikari wanted something more. She wanted a world that she and Yami could make their own. A place of wonder and beauty. So the two created this world, but in doing so they weakened themselves by a great margen. And due to her eagerness to finish her creation, Hikari gave up a section of her power to create six Divine Beasts to help forge the land in their steed while they regained their power.", the God explains as raises his claw from the ground, causing six pillars to erupt from the ground in between the duo and the mountains, standing only half the size of the two Godly statues behind them. On top of the six pillars are figures in the shapes of what look like dragons. From left to right, there appears to be a Fire Dragon standing on its hind legs as it roars to the heavens on the first pillar. The second pillar is dawned with a lengthy sea serpent with two long whiskers as a swirling sphere hovers over its open palm. The third pillar is topped with a deadly Frost Drake, a powerful Danger Beast with thin wings appearing as fragile as ice. On top of the fourth pillar is another slender, snake-like dragon, but this one has large majestic wings that reach up towards the sky that far surpass any of the other dragons' wings. On the fifth pillar is a raging dragon, it's wings spread open for all to fear as bolts of lightning strike all around the God. And then the final pillar holds Quake's statue, a stone figure in his image, depicting the beast standing on all fours as he looks up to the sky with stone spears jetting out all around him.

Minazuki looks up to the dragon to see the beast's gaze focused entirely on the six figures before them, thinking, "These are the other Gods, huh? They look terrifying..."

"Shol, Aquarius, Befalla, Akatsu, Raii... My brothers and sisters, we forged this land into what it is today...together.", Quake explains to the boy as his eyes fixate on the stone monuments before them, his usually cold, calculated eyes seeming to show only dispair and sorrow as his graceful posture seems to falter as well.

"These are the other 'Gods' then? If these are like Quake's siblings, they're probably just as strong if not stronger than he is. If that's true, why does he look so...sad?", Minazuki ponders as he glances up to the dragon with a curious gaze.

As he turns his gaze over to his conduit, the great dragon notices the odd expression across the boy's face, thinking, "What is it now? Did he fail to comprehend even this much?" Before he can asks the boy what seems to be troubling him, Quake notices his posture is all off, his head seeming to hang lower than that of a God as he gives off an almost pitiful aura. Realizing his slight weakness, Quake forces himself back into his usual prideful posture with his head raised high as he adds, "Reminiscing over the past will get us nowhere, for now I should tell you about Befalla."

"You're certain you sensed her aura coming off of Esdeath?", the boy asks the God, his voice ringing with doubt like that of a atheist speaking to a God.

The divine beast only scoffs at his questioning before answering with, "Even though the last time I confronted my wonderful sister was over a thousand years ago, I would never forget that aura, that cold, merciless energy. That has to be her, there's no where else she would want to be."

"Then we need to find some way to deal with her before she becomes a problem. If Esdeath manages to figure out how to use Befalla's power, she'd be-", Minazuki begins to plot before Quake cuts him with a powerful stomp, causing the earth below them to tremble like a small earthquake.

With a stern glare aim down at the boy, the God coldly informs his conduit, saying, "There is no possible way that Befalla would lower herself down to such a level. She'd sooner kill that woman than work in tandem with a mortal, even if they shared so much in common. Before the boy can even ask what Quake means by that, the dragon gives him a quick answer, saying, "Conduits and the Danger Beasts inside share a very similar view of one another, they both think little of the other and only of themselves." Raising a single talon up off of the earthy ground, dirt and dust swirl together to form a stone duplicate of Incursio's key with two figures standing across from one another, looking at each other as the key floats in between them. One of the figures looks like a smaller version of Tatsumi while the other appears to be a furious dragon with razor sharp teeth and many eyes, appearing somewhat human while also seeming to be so much more. "To the user, the Imperial Arm is nothing more than a tool, a weapon do use as they see fit. The same is true for the Danger Beast inside when it comes to the their conduit. The conduit means very little to most of the souls locked away inside these dangerous weapons, thinking only about how they can best use these mortals to unleash their powers unto the world, controlling and manipulating the conduit like a small puppet on a set of strings. Neither party truly cares for one another, they only care for what they desire most, power and unleashing said power." With his voice harshening even further, Quake drives the dagger even deeper, adding, "Even the two of us are only working together in order to deal with this General Esdeath before she can tap into Befalla's true power. If she manages to somehow convince Befalla to aid her, there may be no chance of you stopping that woman on your own."

After a moment of silence between the duo, Minazuki looks up to the God and asks, "What would that be like? What would happen if Esdeath managed to get Befalla to work alongside her?"

"This is all purely theoretical, Shoryu and I only came up with the concept a few years before his passing, but it would be through a unification of the two beings. Their individual thoughts and actions would all be gone, no longer limiting their mind to that of a single entity but rather enhancing it with the knowledge from both sides, allowing the conduit to fully comprehend the Danger Beast's true limits and powers and use them to the best of their abilities. The two individuals die and become something new, something more. I believe Shoryu named it Melding.", the beast vividly explains as he seems to turn away from Minazuki and take a few steps away from the boy, starting to leave the boy behind as he heads towards the path down the mountain.

The conduit's eyes lighten with hope at the idea before exclaiming, "Why don't we do that!? We could beat Esdeath and stop her from doing that melding thing with Befalla before she becomes too strong for us to deal with!"

This sudden suggestion stops the God dead in his tracks, appearing motionless like a divine mountain before the questioning mortal. "There was a reason why Shoryu didn't add that idea into his journal. That is due to the fact that not only would the process be incredibly dangerous for the conduit, but there's no way of knowing whether or not the Danger Beast won't overwhelm their soul and take over their body. If that were to happen, then the soul inside the Imperial Arm would have full control of the mortal's body and could reap as much chaos as their heart desired. Even though this could grant the conduit unbelievable power...it's far too dangerous to perform."

"But the odds of that happening can't be that likely! We have to at least try, right!?", Minazuki passionately exclaims as he tries to persuade the God to listen further, but the beast only turns to the boy with a burning glare.

"It can't be likely!? You've witnessed it yourself, Mortal! You've seen such a melding first hand, or have you already forgotten!?", the divine beast roars back at the boy before slamming his mighty tail down on the ground, causing a small figure to jet out from the stony earth. It's a small child, one that Minazuki recognizes instantly as his eyes widen with fear.

"T-The Ripper!?", the boy questions as he looks to the small girl before him as she holds her signature dagger in her tiny hands.

"Ah, so you do remember this 'incident?' Yes, what happened to this girl was likely the first steps towards melding, but from what I could tell, Meno was pulling her strings the entire time, leading this little girl on a complete warpath through the Empire, indiscriminately killing anyone in their sights. Luckily you dealt with them before they became a serious issue. But to think that Meno was able to weaken the seals on their weapon after so long, I guess I underestimated their abilities...", Quake calmly notes as the Ripper's stone figure crumbles back into dust and dirt. As the figure returns to the earth, Quake tells Minazuki, "Shoryu suggested that there would be two ways of melding; natural and forced. What happened with Meno and that girl, that would be an example of a forced melding. Meno tried to take over his conduit by force and devour her entirely, body and soul. A natural melding however would require an infinitely more complicated scenario. Both the conduit and the beast would have to be aware of one another's existences while having their thoughts and desires become one. After that, the conduit's body would slowly grow to adapt to the beast's monstrous power and become one with it, giving off the same energy on its own rather than simply using the energy generated inside their Imperial Arm, they would become something so much more. But even this could have serious consequences for both parties, considering the fact that both the conduit and the danger beast could easily take advantage of this sudden drop in barriers and take full control of the other."

The boy places his hand over his chin in thought as he mutters to himself, "So there is a way for us to do it, it'll just take much longer than I originally thought it would... I see." The boy's gaze suddenly meets with the dragons and much to Quake's surprise, Minazuki gives him a warm smile as he tells the God, "Thank you."

"You're...thanking me?", the God growls in slight confusion as his cold glare continues to clash with Minazuki's warm smile.

Giving his partner a quick nod, Minazuki kindly replies with, "Well, yeah, you saved me more times than I could count since I joined Night Raid and you opened up about your family and this melding idea. Without you I wouldn't have a clue how any of that works or how dangerous Befalla really is at the moment and how much stronger Esdeath can get. Thank you, for everything."

The boy's kind words seem to warm the dragon a bit, melting his cold gaze ever so slightly as he forces Quake to turn away from him. "This boy...he's not like Shoryu, his heart seems to be filled with a dream much like mother's...", Quake mentally notes as he senses an oddly familiar energy radiating from the boy, seeming to surround his body in a warm light. The beast hesitates at first, leaning heavily towards the side of caution before finally calling out to the boy, growling, "Mortal..."

Minazuki raises an eyebrow at this before answering with, "Quake?", which causes the dragon to turn its head to meet the boy's gaze once more as it spoke up yet again.

"Before Shoryu died, I meant to speak with him about a possible third way of melding, but I chose to keep it a secret. I thought if he knew about it, he'd try to use this method to create an army to wage a war against the Empire on the grounds of Revenge, but for whatever reason, I feel like entrusting this knowledge with you, so listen well." Turning around completely to face his conduit, Quake meets Minazuki's gaze without any hesitation and tells him, "There is a third way to meld, though it is a bit...messy."

"Messy?", Minazuki cautiously questions before Quake adds, "It would involve someone who's already reached a perfect melding, be it natural or forced, using their abilities to trigger the melding process inside another conduit. They would be able to trigger the melding and either allow it to go through as a natural melding, risking both souls through this process, or they could eliminate one of the souls to allow the other easy access to both the power and the body, though this would significantly weaken the being since they would still only be one being."

Minazuki's brow furrows as he hears this, thinking to himself, "If that were possible...then-", before asking Quake, "Then they'd be able to do this to every Imperial Arm and form an entire army, right?"

The divine dragon responds with a stern nod before noting, "Yes, but just because they would have released their newly found form doesn't mean that they would be able to convince the mortal or beast to join their cause, especially if the beast who took over dislikes order or simply wants to run a muck. Controlling all those beasts at once to form a coherent force would be nearly impossible, even for a God like myself."

"I see...thank you for telling me this. I'll see if I can figure out a way to properly use it if we need to.", Minazuki quickly replies as he continues to ponder all the ways this new third way of melding could effect both the soul of the danger beast and the user.

Quake lets out a slight chuckle at this, noticing the cogs as they turn inside the boy's mind before telling Minazuki, "Well Mortal, I believe that's all I feel like sharing for today. Now leave me be, I'd like to return to my slumber in peace."

On Quake's request, Minazuki seems to fade out of existence in his realm, causing the beast to let out an exhausted sigh. The beast lays its giant body down on the ground as it curls up into a large ball to comfort itself, laying his head on top of his tail as he faces the monuments he made of his Gods and siblings. His eyes meet Hikari's, and as he gazes into the statue's lifeless eyes, he quickly turns his sights away in shame as he mutters to himself, "Mother...I'm sorry we failed you...I'm sorry I failed you..."

* * *

Minazuki opens his eyes to see that he's in the living room sitting on the couch with Leone. Tatsumi and Akame are sitting across from them, Lubbock is sitting in a chair to their right and Sheele is sitting in a chair to their left. Leone is waving her hand in front of Minazuki's face while saying, "Heeey, you alive in there?"

Minazuki glances over to her and she says, "Well, hey there Sleeping Beauty. We've been trying to wake you for the past ten minutes."

"I was meditating.", Minazuki says coldly.

"That had to be some serious meditation, because she was about to pick you up and shake you.", Lubbock says as he drops a sugar cube in his cup of coffee.

"You missed Chelsea coming back from her mission. Apparently the Jaeger busted down the door right after she killed her target.", Tatsumi says calmly.

"They were, were they? Then they're either predicting our movements or we have a leak somewhere.", Minazuki replies.

"Well, with this incident, it seems we can be one hundred percent certain that the Jaeger are now solely targeting us. It'll be bad if this continues at the rate it is now.", Akame says with her finger on her chin.

"Considering the new species of danger beasts has been exterminated, the only big target they have left is, well, us.", Sheele says with a slightly saddened look on her face.

"I guess we'll have to give them Tatsumi. Maybe then Esdeath will leave us alone and keep taking Tatsumi out on tropical vacations to pass the time.", Leone says jokingly.

"It wasn't exactly my choice, okay!?", Tatsumi shouts.

"Yeah, it must've been hell being able to be in such a situation with a beautiful woman... It's not like I'm jealous or anything.", Lubbock says as he stirs his coffee.

"In the debrief, he forgot to mention the part where she took her top off.", Leone says with a wink causing Tatsumi to spit out the coffee he was drinking.

"H-how'd you know that!?", Tatsumi shouts.

"My partner here told me all the sweet sweet details of your lovely vacation with Esdeath.", Leone says as she pats Minazuki on the back.

"She wouldn't stop bugging me about it until I told her, so I told her everything.", Minazuki says causing Tatsumi to spit out more of his coffee.

"Everything!?", Tatsumi shouts in a panic.

"Eve-ry-thing.", Leone says with a grin.

"You saw Esdeath topless, and didn't tell ME!?", Lubbock shouts as he tackles Tatsumi in a rage.

Minazuki sighs and says, "Now look at what you just started."

"How were they!?", Lubbock shouts as he shakes Tatsumi like a ragdoll.

"They? What do you-", Tatsumi begins to ask before Lubbock gives him a death glare while saying, "You know what I'm talking about, now answer the damn question! How were Esdeath's tits!?"

Sheele reaches over and wails Lubbock over the head with Ecstasy's handle while saying, "I believe that's enough of that."

Sheele lifts Ecstasy up, planning on hitting Lubbock a few more times for good measure, before he throws his hands up saying, "Alright, I'll stop, I swear!"

He sits back over in his seat and Sheele says, "I'm more surprised by the fact that you didn't just leave her there. It sounds like the best idea considering how powerful she is, right?"

Najenda walks into the room wearing a tank top and jeans while saying, "She's always been tenacious as long as I've known her. She probably would've found some way back on her own if he left her there. It's better that he cleared up all debts he may have had to her so he can be able to use his full strength when the time comes to fight her as a real enemy."

"For as long as you've know her... exactly how old are you, Boss?", Tatsumi asks as he dusts himself off.

"I'm in my mid twenties, but Esdeath is younger than I am.", she replies as she uses her towel to dry her hair.

"You're that young!? You seem older than you look!", Tatsumi says in amazement.

Najenda takes his comment personally and wails him in the face with her metal fist, leaving his face bruised and his body laying on the floor. "We'll be having an important meeting after lunch, so don't drink too much!", Najenda shouts as she walks out of the room.

Akame goes over to check on Tatsumi and as she pokes his face, she says, "It's rude to talk about a woman's age like that, Tatsumi."

"Weren't you the one talking about Sis' weight at one point?", Tatsumi says before her eyes widen.

She smells something nearby and as the door opens, out comes Susanoo with a plate filled with meat as he says, "The food is finished." He walks back through the door, heading to the kitchen and Akame quickly follows behind him, leaving Tatsumi behind.

* * *

After having lunch, Night Raid meets in the meeting room as Najenda ordered. Once everyone has settled in, Najenda starts off by saying, "The subject this time is the religion that is being spread throughout the citizens called The Path of Peace."

"The religion that says that doing good deeds contributes to happiness and longevity?", Chelsea asks as she turns to the Boss with a curious look.

"That one? That came to my village as well. The village elder even gave me a statue of that religion's God.", Tatsumi notes with a slightly surprised look as he recalls the encounter.

"Over the past ten years, The Path of Peace has been increasing their adherents. They've become quite influential on the eastern side of the Empire. Soon, this Path of Peace will start an armed uprising, a religious insurrection so to speak. We're going to use this for our own purposes in the war to come.", Najenda coldly explains as she turns her gaze to her subordinates.

After hearing this, Tatsumi looses his cool and shouts, "Wait just a second! If that sort of thing happens, how many citizens are going to die!? Shouldn't we move to stop such a thing from happening!?"

Najenda lights herself a cigarette and tells the boy, "The corrupt politicians of this Empire have tormented the people for too long... Even if we tried to prevent this uprising, their anger would just explode elsewhere. This country is just that close to its end."

Tatsumi just grits his teeth and says, "I...understand.."

Chelsea rolls her eyes at the boy's outburst and says, "At least listen until the end, Tatsumi."

"You remember the northern tribe, the hero from the north, and the story about my village, right Tatsumi?", Minazuki asks the brunette with a glance. Tatsumi nods and Minazuki goes on, saying, "I've been looking at the data, and it seems to me that the main reason why they failed was because they chose to oppose the Empire alone. The Empire is incredibly powerful even now. After some time, this uprising would be snuffed out as well with as much blood being spilled as possible."

Najenda pulls a map out of her jacket pocket and slams it down on the table before them as she informs them all, "And with that, it's finally the Revolutionary Army's turn. The moment The Path of Peace insurrection begins, we'll have an allied tribe from the west begin an attack. With this, the Empire will be under attack from both the inside and outside. Even with this, they'd likely endure, so we have to add more fuel to the fire. The Revolutionary Army will begin a revolt in the south side of the Empire and advance towards the Capital, and overthrow the Empire!"

"I see, so a three pronged attack. Interesting.", Minazuki says as he looks at the map. Everyone gathers closer around the table to observe Najenda's motions as she points to where the army will start from. "The Revolutionary Army will start from this point in the frontier of the Empire. To get to the Capital from here, they'll need to cut through several forts and castles, but we've already arranged betrayals by the crown princes of several of the castles. Since there were many cases where those who were actually taking their jobs seriously being demoted, it was as simple as asking them to help to convince them to join our cause. The Empire will be more than surprised at how quickly our army will advance toward the Capital, capturing castle after castle without spilling a single drop of blood. But even then, the Capital has their three strongest Generals and their Imperial Guards to intercept. However, this means that the Palace's security will drop significantly.", Najenda explains with a grin on her face as she points to every piece of the puzzle as they fall into place with every word she says.

"And when that happens, it'll be the perfect time to assassinate the Minister. We will storm the Palace and consign him. We will break the Empire from the inside-out", Akame coldly adds as she places her hand on the map, looking down at it with a focused stare.

"Well, sly bastards like him seem to always sneak off in the end.", Lubbock says reluctantly.

"We won't let anything like that happen. We'll be sure to hunt him down and execute him properly, without fail.", Leone notes as she cracks her knuckles, smiling to herself at the thought of taking the Prime Minister's life.

"In return for the western tribe's help, we've agreed to restore their original territory.", Najenda adds as she points to the western part of the map.

"Restore?", Tatsumi questions as he looks to the boss with curious glance.

"Originally, part of the western region of the Empire belonged to the tribes, recovering that land is their dearest desire right now.", Mine explains with a saddened look on her face, holding Pumpkin close to her chest as she looks down at the map and the western tribes' current land.

"If the Empire collapses and the cruel and unfair laws are removed, the people's anger will be soothed. If we continue to move things simply toward the sinking of the Capital and the corrupt Empire in it, there probably won't be too much bloodshed. Satisfied, Tatsumi?", Najenda says before smirking at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi nods before saying, "Yeah. Sorry for getting so worked up partway through."

"But, if the plans have already been made, why aren't we executing them yet? Is this job keeping everything from going according to plan?", Minazuki asks as he looks at the map with a raised eyebrow.

Najenda nods and says, "The Path of Peace is the key to everything, but at the moment, there seems to be some commotion going on withing." She takes a drag from her cigarette and blows smoke into the air before saying, "The lord of this religious group, he holds tremendous charisma, but, his trusted assistant, Borick, is a spy that serves the Prime Minister. Borick's ultimate goal is to seize The Path of Peace and stop the armed uprising from happening. He plans to eventually kill the lord and make him into a 'true God' so to speak, and stand at the peak himself."

"And he probably has his own followers as well, keeping us from just informing the lord and his people, right?", Minazuki suggests as he looks up to her with a glance.

Najenda gives the boy a stern nod before saying, "Correct. His group has a great deal of influence and they're also backed by the Empire."

"This is what disgusts me most about the Minister. He doesn't even try to suppress the uprising, he'd rather just take control of it from the inside and make them his playtoys.", Chelsea growls under her breath as she thinks about the Prime Minister's dishonorable plotting.

"And this is the mission this time, we will go to the headquarters of The Path of Peace and eliminate Borick. We have information that he mixes drugs in food and gives it to a small percent of the slums. Once he finds ones he likes, he gets them addicted and uses them as loyal playtoys. There's no need to hold back against this fiend.", Najenda adds, causing Lubbock and Susanoo to grind their teeth.

"He's probably jumping from woman to woman, playing around with them.", Lubbock furiously growls as he thinks of all the women Borick's fondled through the ages, his old, prune-like hands groping many a bust and bottom.

"Putting drugs in food is nothing if not a complete insult to food...", Susanoo mutters to himself in an equally irritated tone as he thinks of all the dishes the monster has had his men ruin over the years.

"I'll never forgive him!", Lubbock and Susanoo shout in unison before looking to each other as if they'd finally bonded over something for once.

"I don't think you two quite get the point.", Najenda groans to herself as she cups her aching head in her metallic hand.

"If we leave him alone, then more kids from the slums will become drug addicts, huh. Well, I'm not about to let that happen.", Leone adds as she leans against the nearby wall, her usual kind and caring expression showing nowhere as she scowls at the thought of those who've fallen victim to this man's offerings of drugs and money.

"Lastly, the Jaegers. They're currently hunting us down with all of their strength it seems. If we keep ending up behind them, at this rate, we'll surely be caught in their trap.", Najenda says in a more serious tone.

"When they actually barged in, I would've been dead without my abilities.", Chelsea adds as she recalls the events after her mission was complete.

"So this time, I suggest we take the offensive. We lure them outside the Capital and wage war upon them!", Najenda passionately suggests as she looks to her team of assassins with a sly grin.

"So we're finally going head-to-head with these guys then, great!", Mine happily notes with a grin on her face.

"Even within the Jaegers, I have a request from headquarters for us to kill Kurome and Bols if we have the opportunity.", Najenda explains as she continues to smoke her cigarette.

"Bols' corp burned a village that supported the Revolutionary Army to the ground after all, so I'm not surprised he's on the list of targets.", Sheele says as she looks up to Najenda with a stern expression, her eyes seeming to hold no remorse for the masked man.

"Not to mention the firepower from his Imperial Arm being a threat as well.", Akame adds and Sheele nods.

"As long as the Jaegers continue to support the Prime Minister, they're an enemy of the people. You can fight them as enemies even after becoming acquainted with them, right, Tatsumi?", Najenda says as she turns to Tatsumi.

Tatsumi takes a moment to think before getting a courageous look on his face and saying, "I'll do it. I'll fight at my full strength even if we fight the members who aren't our targets! I have no doubts!"

Everyone seems satisfied with his response before Najenda says, "Good, then there won't be any problems then!"

Chelsea looks over to Tatsumi and thinks, "Good, I can feel his resolve. If he keeps this up, something like pitying the enemy and getting killed won't happen." She just keeps looking at him before realizing it and thinking, " _Wait, why am i looking at him so much...? I guess I just can't leave him alone..._ " She watches on as Lubbock and Leone tease him over his fly probably being undone as Najenda walks over to Minazuki.

"Minazuki.", she whispers to the boy, earning his attention. He looks over his shoulder to her and she says, "I know that one of the Jaegers was someone dear to you, but you have to-", but he cuts her off by saying, "I understand what I'll be forced to do, Boss."

The Boss reels back, though only slightly, as she hears him say this in such a cold tone before he adds, "I already killed her once, I might as well do it a second time. I'll be sure to double check in order to be one hundred percent sure she's dead this time. Thank you for your concern though, Boss."

"I see. I'm glad to hear you've accepted this already. We'll be moving out soon. Make sure you're prepared.", Najenda cautiously notes before walking off, leaving the boy to his own thoughts.

With a moment to think, Minazuki looks down at his open hand, thinking, " _Phi...It just had to be you, didn't it..._ ", before clenching his hand into a fist and mentally shouting to himself, " _Even if it's her, I can't hold back! I need to keep my promise! I won't lose anyone else!_ "


	19. The Battle Begins

With the sun's bright rays shining down from above her, Najenda looks down upon a small lake at the bottom of a deep gorge, sitting in a unfolded steel chair on top of a high cliff top. Hearing a loud cry from above, the one-eyed General glances up to spot a falcon diving down straight for her. The woman simply extends her metal arm out like a stiff branch and the bird lands upon it before shaking its right leg, revealing a note attached to it.

Reading through the message, Najenda quickly thinks to herself, " _I see... So she's heading straight for us, and she's bringing her Jaegers along with her. Just what I expected from you, Esdeath. You were always one to put your best foot first. This is all going according to my plan._ "

After dismissing the winged beast with a slight nod, the General stands from her seat and turns around before saying, "Alright, I've received word that our plan is going as we anticipated. You two need to keep nonchalantly attracting attention as we planned, alright?"

Standing there are Akame and Sheele, wearing only their swimsuits and their Imperial Arms. Akame's being a dark red two piece with her top being held together by four strings tied together in the front in a perfect bow and her bottom being tied at the top of her hips, revealing her beautiful sides and flat stomach exposed for all to see.

Sheele's however is a one piece swimming suit that hugs every part of her figure like a lustful lover, hiding the kinder woman's shapely body behind a velvet wall of silk, only leaving her arms and legs exposed up to her shoulders and upper thighs.

After hearing their Boss' request, Akame replies with her usual silent nod and Sheele answers, saying, "We'll try our best."

The two girls leave the General to attend to their assignment, and as she turns her gaze downward to the lake below, a warm smile comes across her face as she thinks, _"Everyone, I hope you enjoy this little break of ours...it might be the last one we get for a long time..."_

Down at the bottom of the gorge, the other Night Raid members are enjoying themselves around and in the cool water. Leone, Chelsea and Mine are playing in the lake, splashing water on one another in their bikinis as the guys sit off to the side in their swimming trunks.

Leone is dressed in a snug stripped, yellow and orange colored two piece bathing suit with the only things holding the cloth in place being three well-placed rings connecting the two breast cups and the last two on her hips, keeping her almost thong-like bottom from simply falling apart as Lubbock so desperately desires.

Contradicting Leone's overly sexual design, Chelsea is showing off a more tomboyish two piece swimsuit with a white background ordained with an elegant black floral pattern. Her top is an average top while her bikini is more akin to a pair of trunks, though their length is so short calling them trunks wouldn't quite do them or her smooth, glistening thighs any justice.

But compared to the other girls' swimwear, Mine has the most innocent attire out of the group. Though she's also wearing a two piece like most of the others, her bright pink top wraps around her entire upper chest, not leaving a sliver of her anvil chest exposed for the boys to drool over, with a pair of strings reaching from the front of her top to behind her neck, ending in a tight knot to keep the top from sliding off.

With his lewd eyes trying to undress the girls even further in his mind, Lubbock starts snickering to himself while saying, "Weeeelll, it sure is nice to see all these girls in their bikinis in a place like this."

"Could you stop drooling over them for a minute, Lub? We need to focus on the plan.", Tatsumi scolds the green haired boy for being such a perv.

"What!? Are you some sort of homo or are you just stupid!?", Lubbock growls back at the brunette, causing him to quickly sit up to defend himself from the thread puller's claim.

"I'm not a-", Tatsumi begins to frantically shout at his own defense before they hear Chelsea seductively call out to him, saying, "Tatsumi~"

They both turn to see Chelsea looking over to him with a warm smile before telling the ignorant boy, "You should come join my team."

"Team?", Tatsumi innocently questions her, uncertain of what that actually means.

"They're trying to see who can overwhelm the other by just splashing water. I don't really see the point.", Minazuki coldly explains from his lounging chair as he continues to read Shoryu's journal.

"Come on, it'll be fun, Tatsumi~", Chelsea seductively begs the boy before shooting him with a quick wink.

With his face starting to burn like a piece of hot iron, Tatsumi gives in to the girl and stumbles to spit out the words, "I-I guess it wouldn't hurt..."

"Hey, that's no fair! We didn't say we were going to have teams!", Leone furiously proclaims as she points a judgmental finger towards the redhead.

"Well, you didn't say we couldn't have teams either, so...", Chelsea cheekily replies as she looks to the blonde with a cocky smirk.

Leone grinds her teeth at the annoying, lollipop licking girl before getting an idea suddenly springs into her head. "Fine, then you'll be on my team, right partner?", she suggests before turning to Minazuki to see that he wasn't even paying attention.

Minazuki looks up to his partner with a reluctant glance and groans, "I really don't get a say in the matter, do I?"

Leone simply smiles at her teammate's reply before quickly shooting back with, "Nope, now get in here."

With his gauntlets still equipped upon his arms, Minazuki reluctantly shuts the journal before putting the book back into his bag and heading into the water.

Letting out a loud growl, like that of a frustrated child, Mine glances towards the two remaining options and says, "I guess I'm stuck with the weirdos. Now, do I choose Lub or Suu?"

With Susanoo simply standing there, almost as if he wasn't even paying attention to their childish game, Lubbock frantically flails his arms in the air, desperately trying to get Mine to pick him over Susanoo.

The pink-haired grouch looks them both over for a moment with her finger to her chin before saying, "Alright, you'll be my partner. You should feel grateful, Suu." As she says that last part, Lubbock's heart shatters like glass and he's left sitting in a cloud of his own depression.

"Don't worry Lub, you can just sit this one out, like every battle before this.", Leone mocks the boy one more time as Lubbock curls up into a ball on his green lounging chair.

As their competition begins, Sheele and Akame watch over them from the cliff side. "It's a shame we had to go draw even more attention to ourselves. I would've liked to have a little more fun with them too, down there.", Sheele notes with a slight frown forming on her face. She turns to see the concern showing through Akame's stern expression before asking the crimson-eyed girl, "What's wrong? Is something troubling you?"

"It...It's my sister, Kurome.", Akame replies as she sits down in the grass, laying her deadly blade down beside her before placing her chin in her right palm. "She's chasing after me as a target. Every time I think about it, I just get lost in thought.", she says before going silent again.

Sheele moves behind her and envelopes the saddened assassin, causing Akame to slightly jump before resting her head on Sheele's arm, as her motherly friend says, "Even if Kurome dies, you still have us, right? Night Raid, we're your family too, Akame. Don't forget that."

With her woe starting to melt into a warm smile, Akame glances back up to Sheele as she replies with, "Yeah, thank you, Sheele."

* * *

The next day, Esdeath and her Jaegers stop for a moment to eat and discuss their strategy in a small town called Romari. They're meeting by a large water fountain as Seryu, Kurome and Phi sit alongside its marble edge, eating the snacks Esdeath bought for them.

"It seems as if Najenda is continuing East while Akame is moving South! Their party's been witnessed splitting into two groups after coming here.", Esdeath continues to explain as she reads the set of papers in her hand, her eyes quickly glancing over every word in order to obtain as much valuable information as possible from the documents.

As the General continues to read over the documents for any further information, Koro desperately reaches out for Seryu's snack, wanting only a nibble from her tasty treat, but she refuses to share, even after he gives her his biggest puppy dog eyes.

"If you go East, you'll come across Kyoroch. It houses the headquarters for The Path of Peace. If you go South, you should come upon cities that support the Revolutionary Army. In any case, this is quite suspicious.", Bols notes as he breaks off a piece of his snake and feeds it to Koro, the dog-like weapon graciously eating out of the palm of the giant's hand.

"If we hurry, we should be able to catch up to both parties without any trouble, right? Let's go!", Wave courageously proclaims as he grabs Grand Chariot's key and begins to rush off on his own, heading for their nearby horses, which are all tied up to a set of posts.

Esdeath stops him however, grabbing the blue-haired seaman by his shoulder and saying, "Wait, Night Raid's members are criminals from the Capital. Since the wanted posters haven't properly circulated to these parts of the Empire, they were seen and tracked. On top of that, they were witnessed splitting into two groups."

As she hears this, Phi raises an eyebrow at the General before curiously asking, "Isn't that a bit too convenient? They're known for being the best of the best when it comes to assassination and stealth, but they were seen, tracked, then observed splitting their party?"

"Yes, it's likely that this is in fact a trap for us.", Ran calmly suggests before taking a bite out of his loaf of bread.

"Then they were trying to lure us out then? Do they plan on defeating us?", Seryu asks the General as she turns to Esdeath for an answer, worry and concern filling her eyes while Koro's eyes fill with despair from being pulled away from Bols' delicious snack.

"Najenda's always been tricky like that. She always fights calmly with a burning heart, that's one of the few things I always admired about her.", Esdeath kindly notes before her cold eyes turn to the ground. _"It's been so long...Najenda..."_ , Esdeath mentally notes as sees a much younger General Najenda with a long french braided ponytail down her back, meeting her cold gaze with one of her own.

"So, what you're saying is we shouldn't follow them?", Wave hesitantly asks their commander, to which Esdeath turns to him with a burning light in her eyes.

"No, we won't waste this opportunity! Night Raid has finally revealed themselves to us... They're serving themselves on a silver platter! We'll prepare for their trap and squash with all our might, trap and all! Seryu, Ran and I will follow Najenda. Kurome, Wave, Phi, and Bols will chase Akame. Be aware of your surrounding at all times. And I don't care if you have to fall back due to the enemy waiting for you with overwhelming numbers. We might all be strong and equipped with Imperial Arms, but I'm not sending you all on a suicide mission. They are the final rats who oppose the Capital. Chase them down and finish them off, without fail!", Esdeath passionately delivers her orders to her subordinates, trying to fill their hearts with as much fire as there is in her own for this endeavor. They all reply to their confident leader with firm nods and warm smiles before quickly splitting off as she ordered and heading off to fulfill their missions.

* * *

Wave, Kurome, Bols and Phi are riding horseback, heading south after Akame.

"So our opponents are the infamous Night Raid. I wonder if someone like me can stand a chance...", Bols nervously ponders aloud, his gaze focusing entirely on the path ahead in order to avoid seeing the judging stares from his comrades.

"You'll do fine Bols. I have faith in your abilities and so does General Esdeath.", Phi kindly tells her masked friend with a smile aimed his way, warming him more than any flames he'd ever produced ever could.

Almost blushing through his mask, the married man turns away from from her before Wave quickly adds, "Yeah. When I fought one of those Night Raiders before, he was about on my level when it came to skill. If we work together, we'll definitely win! On top of that, your Imperial Arm is suited for fighting crowds, so you might be the perfect guy for this sort of mission."

"Really?", Bols questions the boy, his voice seeming to shake with doubt and hesitation.

"You're saying cool things like that, Wave, but I feel like in the end you're going to be the weak link among the four of us!", Kurome jabs at the boy, stabbing him straight through his pride and almost causing him to fall off of his horse.

"What!? Are you saying you can't trust in my abilities!?", Wave shouts back at the dark-haired devil riding beside him, offended by her harsh criticism.

"Considering who we have, me, an elite assassin from the assassination squad, an experienced member of the incendiary squad, General Esdeath's star pupil, then you, some boy from the Imperial Navy with an Imperial Arm. I'm pretty sure we all beat you in skill and power, Wave.", Kurome shoots back at the boy with a sinister grin, assassinating his confidence as swiftly as she would her normal targets. Hearing her cold, harsh stabs at him, Wave grasps at his chest, as if he'd just been stabbed right in his pride, without any way to come back from that criticism.

"If it means anything to you, Wave, I think you're an excellent member of the team and quite strong. General Esdeath also believes this. Kurome's just teasing you is all.", Phi tells the wounded boy, trying to sooth his injured pride as best she can.

"T-thanks, Phi.", Wave happily replies to the kind girl as his pride starts to heal.

As the group continues to banter back and forth, they suddenly see something in the distance! It's a scarecrow in the shape of a hunky man, flexing its straw-filled arms as if it were flexing like some sort of muscle builder.

"What the hell is that thing? A scarecrow?", Kurome asks aloud, raising an eyebrow as they get closer to the figure.

"I think so, but why does it look so strange? And who put it here?", Phi adds to the list of questions, failing to find an answer for any of them while they force their horses to come to a halt.

"It's quite suspicious, everyone, be on your guard!", Bols quickly suggests as they dismount their horses to investigate.

"It could be an enemy trap, we should send Wave over there to investigate. He's the most expendable out of the four of us.", Kurome suggests as she pushes the seaman towards the ominous figure in the distance, treating the boy like a small offering to the scarecrow.

"Now you're just saying those things to hurt me!", Wave childishly growls back at the girl as she continues to push him towards the straw-man.

"We'll go together. There's strength in numbers.", Phi quickly suggests as the four of them slowly start to walk toward the scarecrow.

Off on a far away cliff however, are Mine and Sheele. Mine is laying flat on the ground as Sheele hides in the shadows of the nearby trees, providing cover for her as she lines up her shot. The master sniper focuses her sight down her scope to see the four Jaegers, thinking, " _Targets in sight. Looks like the Boss was right on the money, Esdeath split her group up just like she predicted and went after the Boss herself. Just as planned._ " As her scope drifts from target to target, it finally stops on Kurome, causing the tiny assassin to grit her teeth. " _They really look a lot alike, don't they... I should've expected as much, them being sisters and all... Akame... I'll spare you this pain and end your sister swiftly, with one shot!_ ", the sharpshooter thinks as she lines her shot perfectly with Kurome's chest and taking a deep breath before holding it all in to help her aim. As she holds her breath, Mine finally pulls the trigger, firing a shot right at Kurome!

As the beam flies across the canyon towards the Jaegers, it looks like it's going to hit its mark, but Kurome leaps backwards, managing to dodge out of the way of the shot in a split second!

Mine lowers her gun in complete disbelief at what she just saw and thinks, " _She dodged!? What the hell was that superhuman reaction time!?_ "

"A gunshot!? But from where!?", Phi exclaims as they look around for the source of the attack.

Kurome looks straight up at Mine in her sniping spot and as she points straight at her would-be assassin, Kurome swiftly tells them, "The shot came from up there! We need to find cover, now!"

With their first attempt at a quick kill left in ruin, the scarecrow suddenly busts apart to reveal Susanoo hidden inside. The Imperial Arm charges at the group alone with all his might, ready to strike at least one of them down, but Wave sees the attack coming out of the corner of his eye. The boy jumps in between Susanoo and Kurome as he shouts, "Watch out!" Though Wave manages to block Susanoo's full on attack with Grand Chariot's key, that isn't enough to completely negate the attack and he's sent flying off through the air as if Susanoo had just hit a grand slam!

Phi, Bols and Kurome all look up and watch Wave fly off while calling out to him, all shouting, "Wave!"

The team then hear a sinister voice say, "We may have failed on the sniping, but we blew away one of you four. And it wasn't one who was a target, this is good." They all look to see the Incursio armor, Lionelle, Akame, General Najenda and a man hidden in a cloak with his face hidden inside his hood standing before them.

"Night Raid!? I see, so this is all of them!? So the East was a fake then!", Bols shouts as he realizes the the trap that they're in.

"Kurome and Bols, even within the Jaegers, you two are priority targets! Prepare yourselves to be eliminated!", Najenda coldly informs the two Jaegers as she points to them, ignoring Phi entirely.

"Priority targets. I see, I won't let you do that!", Phi growls as she steps in between Night Raid and her allies.

"I see, because I've burned countless people, I've been targeted. I feel that nothing can be done about it if I'm targeted for such acts, but, I will not die! I must return to them, alive!", Bols courageously shouts as he prepares his Imperial Arm, pointing its flaming barrel at the group of enemies before him.

Kurome and Akame just look at each other with cold, unfeeling eyes before Kurome says, "Sis.", and Akame sternly replies with, "Kurome."

Kurome puts her hands together and happily smiles at her sister before saying, "I've been waiting so long to see you, Big Sis, thank God. If I cut you down now, I can add you to my collection." The younger sister swiftly draws Yatsuhusa and raises it up in the air before a dark black lightning jumps from the blade and hits the ground in several spots. And from those spots, the dead begin to rise from their graves. The earth begins to tremble as a giant danger beast claw emerges from the ground and Kurome says, "I've gathered quite the collection so far, Sis. I even got my own personal ultra-class danger beasts, one being Destaghoul!" The beast emerges from the ground and its size is enormous. It resembles a giant bone lizard with a giant X shaped scar on its chest.

" _It was a gamble whether Esdeath would split her forces into two groups, but now I see, if Yatsuhusa is truly this powerful, a little trap like this doesn't mean much!_ ", Najenda thinks as they all see the size of Destaghoul.

"Now, let's begin this little dance, shall we? How many of you are going to die, I wonder?", Kurome asks as she looks down at her sister with a wicked grin.


	20. A Forgotten Love

We return to our previous situation from last chapter, Kurome having just unleashed seven of her eight puppets onto the battle field as she stands upon her prized possession; Destaghoul. Akame quickly leaps into action, aiming straight for her sister. With one strong downward swing, she attempts to eliminate her sister, but Kurome blocks the attack.

" _The user's movements will become slower the more puppets they unleash all at once! I need to take this opportunity to strike!_ ", Akame thinks as she starts to rapidly slash at her sister.

Kurome continues to block until she sees an opening to strike. As she slashes at Akame, Akame dodges before trying to counter with a killing blow. It seems like Kurome will be too slow to dodge or block, but a man who Akame recognizes as Natala steps in the way, blocking the attack with his spear type Imperial Arm.

"Return Natala back to the Earth already, Kurome! He's a dear friend, isn't he!?", Akame shouts as she dodges Natala's rapid slashes and stabs.

Kurome rushes her older sister for an attack, unleashing a lightning fast slash at her which Akame blocks in turn before telling her older sister, "What are you talking about, Sis? It's because he's my friend that I want to always be with him. I'll add you to my collection as well, Sis. Then we'll be together like before~"

"Stop joking around.", Akame growls as she shoves Kurome's blade back and prepares to strike again with a swift downward strike.

Natala stops her however, knocking the assassin off of Destaghoul with a quick blow to her abdomen with the blunt end of his spear, sending her right into Bols' sights. With the barrel of his weapon burning a crimson red, Bols calls out, "Magma Drive!", before shooting a condensed ball of flame at Akame.

The swordswoman turns her sights towards the man to see the attack coming straight for her and knowing she won't be able to dodge she prepares to take the attack head on, crossing her arms over her face to protect herself from the blaze. Lucky for her, Tatsumi comes to her rescue, leaping through the air and catching her to pull the girl out of the way at the last second.

"Don't rush in like that! This isn't like you, Akame!", Tatsumi boldly scolds the dark-haired assailant as he carries her in his arms.

"I-I'm sorry...", she sheepishly replies as she notices her mistake.

With her sister out of her reach, Kurome leaps from Destaghoul's shoulder with Natala to the nearby cliff to watch over the battle from a safer place. "Sis, you betrayed us and joined people like...that..? KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL, DESTAGHOUL!", Kurome exclaims at the top of her lungs as Destaghoul starts to charge up a ball of energy in front of his mouth.

"Move out of the way! That's focused life energy, Mortal! Don't attempt to block that attack, none of you could possibly block this much focused power!", Quake shouts, gaining Minazuki's attention as the boy's eyes widen in complete terror. With quick flick of his wrists, Minazuki quickly shifts everyone out of the way of harm before Destaghoul fires off its attack, sculpting the very landscape itself with its cone-shaped blast.

"So this is the power of an ultra-class danger beast! And to think Imperial Arms are made from such beasts! What absurd power!", Mine shouts in complete disbelief as the shockwave from the beast's attack finally reaches her and Sheele, the air ripping past them with enough force to shake the very ground below them and make the trees tremble.

"It seems like they all made it out of there alive, how unfortunate.", Kurome says as she sits down and starts eating her cookies from her bag of snacks.

"Destaghoul, what destructive power. Susanoo, we'll all stop this thing together!", Najenda says as she turns her sharp gaze towards the towering beast, preparing to confront it along with her subordinates.

"That order is a mistake, Najenda. This foe might be fearsome, but... I can defeat it by myself. Have everyone else focus on the other enemies for now.", Susanoo stoically replies as he easily knocks away Destaghoul's claw as it tries to crush him.

"Very well, I'll leave Destaghoul to you, Susanoo.", Najenda says with a slight smirk.

Mine takes aim again at Kurome as she thinks, " _This time, I'm certain I'll get her! I'll defeat Kurome and dispel her puppets for sure!_ " Before she can take the shot however, Natala notices her and shoots the head of his spear at her. Mine and Sheele both dodge the attack, but a girl with long blonde hair dressed as a cowgirl wielding dual pistols rushes across the wire the head is attached to.

"Another opponent.", Sheele coldly notes as she readies Ecstasy, holding the weapon in one hand with its blade behind her back.

"And she's using guns too, huh? Let's get her Sheele!", Mine says before opening fire on the girl.

As the duo clashes with the gunslinger, Tatsumi is off fighting his own battle with what appears to be a part man part beast enemy. It resembles an ape, but fights with the intelligence of a warrior. Tatsumi manages to dodge his unpredictable attacks before landing a strong punch to the beast's chest, sending him skidding back. Another enemy appears from the beast's shadow and lunges towards Tatsumi with a blade ready to pierce his neck. Incursio's cape saves the boy's life however, reforming into the form of a small beast and bites down on the newcomer's blade, blocking the attack. "Another one!?", Tatsumi exclaims in a panic as he summons Neuntote and slices at the shadowy figure.

The figure easily evades the boy's slashes and stabs, its ghastly body moving around his attacks while saying, "Inexperienced-perienced-perienced." The figure eventually lands on top of the spears head, standing on top of the deadly blade as he goes for a counter attack, aiming for Tatsumi's head this time for a quick kill. Incursio blocks the attack again, this time forming a mouth on the helmet that bites down on the blade to stop it from piercing Tatsumi's skull.

" _The armor blocked the attack again, I'm lucky. He would've gotten me there if it didn't. What even is is this guy?_ ", Tatsumi thinks to himself as the figure says, "I failed-failed-failed..."

Akame rushes toward Bols while shouting, "It'll be dangerous if he starts supplying them with covering fire with his Imperial Arm! I will end him swiftly!"

"She's coming after me then!", Bols says as he readies Rubicante. He fires a large wave of fire at her, but she manages to run along the wall of the canyon to avoid it. As she goes to slash his back with Murasame, a bald man wearing sunglasses with a large shield on his back comes and blocks the attack with his arms.

As the expert killer slices along the dead man's arms, she mentally growls to herself, " _The curse won't work on the corpse puppets!_ "

The bald man quickly retaliates with a powerful roundhouse kick to the girl's chest, sending the girl hurdling across the ground.

"Akame!", Leone yells out for Akame as she rushes to check on her friend's condition, but something seems to wrap around her ankle. She finds herself slammed into the wall before seeing a man with short red hair wielding a whip like weapon standing as her enemy. "Old man, you've really done it this time.", she says as she gets up and prepares to fight this unknown man. He goes to hit her with the whip again, but she dodges and says, "I can see through a simple attack like that, Old Man!"

He quickly flicks the whip with all his might, sending the end in all directions, making it nearly impossible to predict his next move. "What!?", she shouts in disbelief as the whip seems to hit her from every angle. " _Damn it! My kinetic vision can't keep up with this kind of attack! Even in this form! He's not even using an Imperial Arm or anything and he's still this tough!_ ", the lioness mentally scorns as she continues to take his attacks head on.

Kurome just watches on from above and says, "Wow, it's a huge melee down there. Interesting!", before looking down to see her beaten up sister, Akame.

"Kurome...", Akame calls out to her sister as she forces herself to back onto her feet.

"Hey, aren't my toys great? There's Doya, the cutie with the guns over there. She was an assassin sent in from the northern tribes. She's quite confident looking, don't you think? You should've seen her crying her eyes out when I killed her, it was great. Then there's that baldy over there, Woll. He was a famous bodyguard before I killed him for trying to keep me from my target. That animal over there is Apeman. He's kind of a meathead, but he's fun and easy to use, so I keep him around. That sneaky bastard over there is Hentarr, a survivor from the Ban Tribe. His movements are so damn tricky, it mad him a real pain in my ass to kill him, so I keep him around kind of like a proud trophy. That red head over there is Rokgough, a former General of the Empire. He was exposed trying to betray us and join the Revolution, so he was eliminated. Then there's Destaghoul, who I found hibernating in a huge hole in Siega. That was a real lucky find. Then there's Natala, my friend from my childhood. He guards me completely during Yatsuhusa activation. And if these guys aren't enough for you all, I still have my eighth puppet. I consider him my Trump Card so to speak. So look forward to that if you survive this onslaught.", Kurome informs the group of assassins with a smug smile on her face as she looks down at them, her dark eyes focused entirely on her older sister.

" _We still haven't seen one yet!? What could be so powerful that she'd be saving it like this!?_ ", Tatsumi mentally shouts before his thoughts are interrupted by Hentarr slashing at him. The boy manages to dodge, leaping backwards with his spear before going for a counter attack of his own, which Apeman intercepts. The beastly man takes the attack head, allowing the head of the spear to stab straight through his stomach, but the beast isn't remotely phased by the attack. With his large barbaric hands, Apeman grabs Neuntote and rips the bloodied spear from his guts before tossing both the weapon and Tatsumi high up into the air.

"That's useless. They're puppets after all. They don't feel pain. They'll keep moving even after such a deadly attack, as long as I'm still alive, that is.", Kurome cheerfully notes as Apeman leaps into the air and uses all his barbaric might to power slam Tatsumi straight into the ground.

Hearing the new information Kurome so happily provided to them all, Leone turns to the red-haired puppet and says, "Old Man, so you were an Imperial General. I thought you were tough... I guess it makes more sense now." The undead General goes to crack her with his whip again but the lioness isn't phased by it at all as she coldly growls, "But..." And right as the whip is about to collide with her face, the furious brawler snatches it right out of the air with her bloodied hand before roaring, "As you can see, I'm already used to this attack! Don't think that the same move is gonna work on forever!"

As Leone creates an opening in the man's defenses, a wicked grin comes across Najenda's face as she rushes in while complementing the lioness, saying, "Good work, Leone!" And with her metal hand balled up into a fist, the proud General fires a devastating punch right into Rokgough's face, sending both the hand and the corpse flying before reeling herself in for another strike to his chiseled face. "General Rokgough, as an ex-colleague and former friend, I will free you from this state as quickly as possible.", Najenda tells her old comrade as she delivers a devastating kick to his sternum, sending him across tumbling across the ground like a tumbleweed.

"It's been a while since I've seen you fight, Boss.", Leone scoffs at the one-eyed General, earning herself a quick glare that shuts her up.

With Leone's focus elsewhere, Kurome rushes in for an attack, leaping down the stone wall towards the distracted blonde. Seeing this, Minazuki attempts to rush in to intercept the little sister, but Phi steps into his path, stopping his attempt as she shouts, "I won't let you touch a hair on my comrades' heads!"

Suddenly a blade made of wind comes flying towards the boy from her direction, cutting through the very earth itself as he barely evades the attack, leaping out of the way at the last second and landing on one knee as he analyzes the situation before him. " _Wind? Could this be her Imperial Arm!?_ ", Minazuki quickly surmises in his head as another blade of wind slices its way through the air heading straight for him. Minazuki dodges her attack yet again, rolling out of the way before striking the ground with a right hook, sending earth spears jetting out from the stone wall toward Kurome.

"I-it can't be...", Phi mutters under her breath as she watches the deadly stones shoot out towards her comrade before Kurome quickly slices through them with her blade and retreats back up to the safety of the cliff side.

" _I thought I had an opening, but I guess these Night Raiders cover each other well enough._ ", the little girl mentally notes as she reaches into her sack of treats and pulls herself out a small cookie. She then turns her gaze over to her green-haired comrade before giving her a slight smile and kindly requesting, "Phi, can you deal with that man quickly? He seems to be more than aware of his surroundings. He'll be a real hindrance if we let him live any longer."

"I see, I'll try my best.", Phi quickly answers her before turning her sights Minazuki, her eyes burning bright with a fury not even Minazuki had ever seen before. With her murderous intent beginning to spill from her body, Phi coldly tells herself, "I'll deal with this one, personally."

* * *

Phi quickly throws off her jacket to reveal she has some sort of blade attachments on her wrists and ankles. " _Are those her Imperial Arm? I haven't seen anything like that in Shoryu's journal..._ ", Minazuki contemplates at the sight of the unfamiliar weapons.

"Assassin, there's no need to hide your identity any longer with that cloak. Toss it aside and I'll end this quickly.", Phi chillingly demands as she gives the boy an unyielding glare. " _This assassin, there's something about them. Do I know them from somewhere? Maybe they know something about my past._ ", Phi calmly thinks as she takes her battle stance.

Minazuki just takes his stance and waits for her to attack, leaving his cloak on against the girl's orders, thinking, " _I need to keep this thing on, these Jaegers are all on our level, so if there's even a chance that they could escape and connect me with Night Raid, I need to keep that as low as possible. I don't want to end up like Sheele and Akame, or have to be a monk every time I go into the Capital. I can't let any of them see my face, especially her..._ "

"Very well, I'll make the first move then!", the furious girl shouts as she rushes toward the vaguely familiar figure with lightning quick speed.

" _She's fast._ ", Minazuki calmly notes to himself as Phi throws a quick jab towards his face, but he manages to sidestep out of the way just in time to avoid her iron fist. Much to his surprise however, her blade glides along the band on attaching itself to her arm, positioning the blade right in front of the boy's throat.

" _I got you now, Night Raid!_ ", Phi mentally scoffs as she goes to stealthily slash to his throat with her razor sharp blade. Minazuki barely sees this coming and nearly falls victim to her blade, but the ground under his feet quickly shifts, pulling him out of harms way and leaving only a foot between the two fighters.

" _Don't get reckless, her Imperial Arm seems to have a few tricks up its sleeves. I managed to pull you out of harm's way this time, but I doubt that was all the speed she can manage, so be on your guard._ ", Quake coldly warns the boy, to which the God adds, " _Her being your friend before all of this means nothing now, Mortal. We need to end this quickly and deal with that reanimated Danger Beast before it manages to pull enough life energy to level this entire canyon._ "

" _Stop ranting to me! I know what I have to do..._ ", Minazuki bites back at the dragon as he pulls back his fist, ready to unleash a final strike to take out the Jaeger.

Before his attack can connect however, Phi throws a quick kick at the boy, launching a condensed burst of wind that comes from her ankle blades before she says, "That's not going to work. I'll just blow you away every time."

"So _it **is** her Imperial Arm then!_", Minazuki mentally proclaims before stomping the ground to launch earth spears at her from as many angles as the terrain will let him.

Leaping backwards into the air, Phi slashes at the earthy spears with her wrist blades, slicing them into tiny pieces. " _I know these attacks from somewhere...but where?_ ", Phi contemplates as she her frustration continues to get to her. "Assassin, do I know you from somewhere?", Phi growls at the boy, but Minazuki doesn't answer, remaining coldly silent as the girl's burning fury shows in her emerald eyes.

Instead of giving her an answer, he simply rushes in for an attack, thinking, " _She's confused, but she's putting things together quick...I need to end this fast!_ "

The brawler throws a wave of quick jabs at the girl, which she managed to dodge by a hair's length as she slashes at his arms in retaliation. Each attack hits her mark as intended, but they don't draw blood, and after feeling the recoil of her blades hitting something after each strike, the girl mentally asks herself, " _Armor under their sleeves!? But my attacks should be strong enough to cut through even steel!?_ "

When he pulls his fists back and retreats to make some distance between the two of them, the sleeves of his cloak fall to pieces on the ground, revealing Quake to her.

With widen eyes, Phi looks upon the gauntlets for only a moment before memories start flooding her mind, memories of training with her master and someone she knew. As she desperately grabs her head with one hand, Phi cries out, "W-what is this? Are these, my memories!?"

" _Damn, she's starting to remember! I need to end this now!_ ", Minazuki mentally proclaims before sending even more earth spears to attack her, but before their deadly tips can reach their target, she starts spinning like a ballerina, slicing through everything around her with her blades like a razor sharp top.

As she finally comes to a stop and her head stops spinning, her memories become clearer, seeing a wise man holding a katana in one hand, smiling back at her as she attacks him, only for him to easily defeat her with a single strike of his sheath. And as the man pulls her up off of the ground, she can see that it's Izunaga and there is a person standing a few feet behind him, leaning back against a tree as they watch the two spar. Though she can make out the figure's general shape, their face is completely lost in a haze of confusion before the girl snaps back into the fight. "I-Izunaga...? Izunaga! My master! I remember my master! You were there when I was training back in Tapu Village! Who are you, Assassin!?", Phi exclaims as she tries to force an answer out of Minazuki. She rushes him oncemore, rage filling her eyes as he refuses to answer her questions. "Answer me, damn it! Who-ARE- **YOU**!?", Phi furiously lashes out as she wildly slashes at the faceless assassin, sending blades of wind hurdling towards him with every slice.

With the many blades of air whirling around him, trying desperately to end his life, Minazuki desperately tries to evade her attacks, remaining silent through it all as Quake shouts, " _We shouldn't be holding back! End this swiftly, Mortal!_ ", causing the boy to finally lash out, slamming his fist down into the ground to cause a small sand storm to slow her wind to a halt and partially blind the girl.

Phi quickly goes for a strong left hook and as he ducks under her swing, she continues to remember something. Suddenly her memories and reality start to mix, causing the assassin in front of her to appear as the strange figure from before in her memory as he goes counter attack with a quick jab from his left hand. She swiftly parries the attack, brushing his gauntlet off to the side as she goes for a quick kick to his side. " _I've...been in this situation before._ ", she thinks as the haze around the figure's face begins to fade, revealing his dark hair as he catches her leg and goes to knee her in the gut. Phi manages to avoid his attack by kicking off the ground with her free leg and kicking him straight in the side of his head, freeing herself from his grasp and causing the assassin to stumble backwards which dispels the sandstorm around them. " _Yes, I know this person somehow! This person, who are they!?_ ", she thinks in frustration as she charges back into the fight for a strong right hook, aiming straight for his face. As she goes for her all-out attack, the image in her mind finally begins to clear, and what she sees is a boy smiling back at her as he throws a mighty punch in response to her own, causing her eyes to widen in confusion. The assassin and figure match up perfectly as they meet her right hook with one of their own, and when they meet, the clashing energies send a sonic boom throughout the gorge, catching everyone's attention. And the force of the attack is enough to push the hood on Minazuki's cloak back, revealing his face to Phi.

As she sees his face, even more memories start flooding her mind; of her childhood friend, of the person she ate food with so many times, the boy she gave her first kiss to, and then she remembers that dreaded night. "You...You're...", Phi begins to mutter as tears well up in her eyes.

Minazuki just lets out a light chuckle before saying, "It's been a while Phi, you've definitely gotten stronger."

The frantic girl falls to her knees in complete confusion, wrapping her arms around herself like a blanket as she shouts, "HOW!? HOW ARE YOU HERE!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

Bols and Kurome both look over to her to see she's crying. "Phi?", Kurome mutters to herself as her cold and calculated mask starts to crack, showing the concern hidden behind her mask.

"I could ask the same of you. I thought you got caught in that accident like everyone else did.", Minazuki coldly answers the girl with his left hand slightly trembling.

"I LOOKED EVERYWHERE FOR YOU! WHERE DID YOU GO!?", the frantic girl exclaims through her tears, her eyes burning with both rage and betrayal.

"After the mountain side fell on the village, I couldn't stand the sight of it and the smell of blood, so I ran.", Minazuki tries to lie, but his words only cause the girl further fury.

"STOP LYING, WE BOTH HAD THE SAME MASTER! I CAN TELL WHEN YOU'RE LYING JUST AS GOOD AS YOU CAN ME, NOW TELL ME THE TRUTH!", she demands from the one she loved so long ago as she forces herself up off of her knees and to her feet.

"You want the truth? Fine, if that's what you want. The truth is...", Minazuki begins to reply as he walks up to her, his hands balled up in fists as he tries so desperately to control the shaking. "It was me.", he admits to the baffled girl as he looks at her with nothing more than a cold glance.

Phi's left paralyzed by the shock, unable to do anything but just stand there shaking in complete shock from what she just heard. "You...You did that to...", she tries to say, but she can't seem to get the words out.

"I killed everyone and even tried to kill you. Is that true enough for you, Phi?", he forces himself to continue to answer the girl as his shaking finally stops and he stands in front of her without a hint of doubt left in his soul.

This does little for Phi however as her trembling only intensifies after hearing his unwavering tone as he talks so casually about everyone's death and as she finally reaches her mental limit, a powerful breeze starts to whirl around her, forming a small whirlwind that forcing the murderer back. "IT WAS YOU! YOU WERE THE FIGURE I SAW THAT NIGHT!", she shouts in her rage as blades of wind fly out of the tornado almost at random, slicing through anything and everything in their path. Finally looking up from the ground, Phi's wrathful eyes meet Minazuki's cold, emotionless gaze as she growls, "I'm gonna kill you."

Suddenly multiple blades of wind come out from the tornado heading straight for Minazuki, but he manages to dodge them as she shouts, "I TRUSTED YOU! I CARED FOR YOU! I LOVED YOU! I WOULD'VE GIVEN UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU!"

"And I did this to you. I'm a real monster, aren't I?", Minazuki answers her, a hint of despair ringing through his voice as he continues to shift the ground under his feet to narrowly evade her raging wind.

Her fury only burns brighter as he says that and she shouts, "THEN DO US BOTH A FAVOR AND DIE, YOU BASTARD!" Ten more blades come at him, and he knows they're too quick to move around all of them, so he takes to the air, jetting himself into the air with a quick launch from a stone platform. Phi follows the boy with her burning glare and sees this as her best time to strike. "MINAZUKI!", Phi shouts as she launches herself towards the boy with a powerful tornado pushing her forward, ready to cut him down for his sins.

"Phi...", Minazuki gently answers her call as she quickly approaches him, seemingly helpless in the air with no earth to bend to his will. With her blade only inches from slicing his throat, he mutters to her, "It's over."

She barely pays attention to it at first, ignoring everything but her desire to kill, but before she can land the killing blow multiple earth spears come out from his body, jetting out from his jacket and pierce her throughout her body. With blood filling her lung as she tries to draw her last few breaths, she manages to curse the boy once again, growling, "Minazuki...you...bastard..."

With her mind teetering on the balance of life and death, the winds holding her body in the air release her, causing her bleeding body to fall right into Minazuki's arms as he wraps both her and himself in sand and gently lowers the two of them to the ground.

She looks over to Minazuki as he grits his teeth in frustration and she asks, "Why? Why would you do this to our village?"

Minazuki looks away from the dying girl as he fights off the tears welling up in his eyes and says, "According to Yata, our village was doomed to be wiped out for not paying the Empire's outstanding taxes. We tried to form a small army, but in the end, we knew it was far too late to be able to stand against the coming threat. Yata and Izunaga ordered me to eliminate the entire village and set off to find a way to get vengeance for those who died. It was the only way. If we stood and fought, Esdeath and her army would've just slaughtered everyone to make an example out of us."

Her anger dies down at the sight of his tear-filled face and with a slight smile on her face, she chuckles, "You always hated letting people see you cry..." Phi takes his face into her bloodied hand and as she gently moves his face so their eyes meet one last time, she tells the boy, "I forgive you, Minazuki."

Minazuki's eyes widen as he hears her say that after everything she'd just said earlier before her arm falls limp and she dies in his arms. Minazuki just drops to his knees, not sure how to feel. He's filled with despair, rage, and bitterness, but he can't seem to let any of it out. He just looks down at her and sees the slight smile on her face. "Phi...", he says as he holds her close.

" _This is no time to grieve, Mortal! Stand up and fight, or the enemy will surely take advantage of your weakness!_ ", Quake shouts at the boy, but to no avail as Minazuki's left in a trance, unable to take his tear-filled eyes off of the fallen friend laying in his lap.

" _Not again...I-I killed her... Phi, I don't deserve your forgiveness..._ ", the broken boy guiltily admits to himself as the pain and sorrow paralyze every muscle in his body.

Kurome looks over to see the aftermath of the fight only to spot Phi's lifeless corpse in the arms of her enemy. "I see, so he's beaten Phi... Phi...! I'll be sure to eliminate him for that!", Kurome shouts as she sends Hentarr and Apeman after him. "Get him! Kill him for Phi's sake!", Kurome orders at the top of her lungs, her emotions clouding her judgement as she goes purely for vengeance.

" _Mortal, we need to move! Abandon that girl and move, now!_ ", the dragonic God thunderous voice echos through the boy's head, but not even Quake's ear-shattering demands can reach Minazuki, who continues to hold Phi's lifeless body in his arms.

Hentarr and Apeman head straight for Minazuki, shifting their target from the exhausted Tatsumi to the seemingly defenseless boy as their master ordered but before they can reach him, the earth begins to violently tremble throughout the entire gorge.

"What!? An earthquake!?", Kurome exclaims in confusion as her cookie falls out of her mouth. As if the earth itself had suddenly sprung to life, a stone claw, similar to that of a dragon, erupts from ground before grabbing Apeman and slamming his beastly body into the canyon wall, turning the puppet into nothing more than a bloody concoction of blood and bones on the rocky surface.

"Very well... if you refuse to fight, I'll deal with this situation myself!", Quake growls as he drops Phi's body on the ground and stands up to confront the enemies before him.

"Apeman!", Kurome calls out to her former puppet as the bloodied claw crashes down to the ground.

" _I might have only a short time here, but I'll be sure to have fun playing with you, Yatsuhusa._ ", the enraged God greedily thinks as he turns around to face the bony giant, his eyes seem to glow a shimmering copper as the pupils transform into Xs.


	21. A God's Rampage

"Let's dance, Yatsuhusa.", the God growls as he raises his open palm, causing the earth to tremble oncemore with his stone claw slamming into the ground with a thunderous crash. Much to everyone's surprise, the claw begins to move again, but as it rises up from the dirt much more comes with it. Out from the stony gorge, stones begin to erupt out and as they group together to form a figure in Quake's likeness, though much smaller. And as the God points a finger toward the bony fiend before him, the newly formed beast's mouth opens and small balls of green energy begin to float up from the ground and into its gaping maw to form a growing ball of light.

With her eyes widening at the sight of this somewhat familiar attack, Kurome quickly turns to Destaghoul and shouts, "Destaghoul, take him out before he can fire that attack!"

Quake looks up at Destaghoul with a slight smirk as the undead beast charges up its laser once again. "What a hindrance. I'll eliminate you first then, Destaghoul!", the irritated God growls as he aims his open fist at Destaghoul, causing the dragon's stony mouth chomps down on the radiant green ball. Without any warning, Quake simply closes his hand as he mutters, "Fire.", and the dragon opens its mouth to shoot out a light green beam that clashes with Destaghoul's bright blue beam.

"W-what the hell was that!?", Mine gasps as she continues to fight against Doya with Sheele by her side.

Sheele looks over to the battlefield to see that the source of the green beam seems to be Minazuki and she shouts, "I think that green beam is Minazuki's! Is this his Trump Card!?"

"Don't know, let's ask him when we're done here!", Mine shouts back at the purple-haired woman as she manages to finally put a few rounds in Doya, sending the cowgirl flying backwards off the cliff in the process.

Bols watches on in amazement as the two beams clash, send shockwaves across the canyon floor with the raw power behind their collision, as he thinks, " _Night Raid, they're even able to give Kurome's strongest puppet a run for their money... These guys are way stronger than I thought!_ "

"As much as I'd love to take my time with you, I have much bigger beasts to fry! Return to the earth, Destaghoul!", the raging God shouts at the towering bony puppet as his radiating green beam starts to gradually force Destaghoul's blue attack back as the beast struggles to match Quake's overwhelming power. The green beam suddenly enlarges, growing to three times its original size before completely enveloping the heartless puppet in its unbearable light and destroying its entire skull in one focused blast before fading away.

"Minazuki...eliminated Destaghoul in just one shot.", Najenda gasps after seeing the results of his devastating attack.

"That isn't Minazuki.", Susanoo bluntly tells his master with a cold glance focused on the God.

"Susanoo? What do you mean?", Najenda quickly questions the Imperial Arm, to which the horned warrior points toward Quake.

"Look at his eyes and the overwhelming power surging through his body, Najenda. It's clearly the work of the danger beast inside his Imperial Arm.", Susanoo explains to his master as the duo focus their sights on Minazuki's eyes and the visible aura pouring from his body.

After mentally putting together the pieces of the puzzle, the wise General recalls the Ripper incident with Meno from long ago before turning her attention back to Susanoo and asking, "Do you believe he'll be alright? Should we stop him?"

"At this point, I don't believe that's an option we have. Not even my Trump Card would stand against Quake's full power in this state.", Susanoo coldly answers her as his relentless gaze follows the God's movements as he raises his hand in order to aim the dragon head back up at Kurome, the same green energy seeming to rise up from the earth and form a deadly green sphere in the inanimate beast's mouth.

"Now, mortal, unleash Yatsuhusa's full power for me! I would like to enjoy what little time I have left here!", the God furiously demands from the girl before launching a quicker, but less powerful, blast up at Kurome.

Natala quickly pulls the little sister out of the way of the deadly blast, holding her close to his chest with one arm as he uses the other along with his Imperial Arm to launch his spear head to the other side of the gorge while the beam begins to slice through the cliff side. Seeing the puppet evade his initial strike, Quake attempts to adjust the head's aim to follow their movements as the two zip through the air, but Natala is just barely fast enough to avoid the beam of light.

"Well, it seems for now, he's still on our side.", Najenda sighs to herself as the God continues to fight their mutual enemy. " _Is this what we need to defeat Esdeath? The power of a rampaging Imperial Arm?_ ", Najenda thinks before watching Hentarr dash toward Quake, looking to take advantage of his opening.

With his burning glare focused on the soulless being rushing him down, Quake shifts silences his deadly beam and furiously roars, "Pesky insect, return to the Earth!" With a powerful, earth-shattering stomp, multiple earth spears jet out of the ground, trying to run Hentarr through, but the undead shadow of a man masterfully weaves his way around the attacks. But, before he can make it any closer to Quake, a sly grin comes across the God's face as the spears connect to forming a small cage. Following Quake's quick flick of his wrist, sand erupts from the ground, lining the stony cage to form a perfect dome around the baffled Hentarr before quickly sinking into the ground, crushing every bone in the masked puppet's body and putting him to rest once and for all.

"Hentarr!", Kurome exclaims as she watches another one of her servants fall to Quake's rampage. " _Damn it, I can't summon my last puppet while I'm running like this! I need more space!_ ", the panicked girl thinks as Natala carries her in his arms, continuing their escape as he shoots another spearhead and zips along with it to safety.

Quake barely catches the duo in his sights as they continue to escape, mentally grumbling to himself, " _How insufferable, if I had my real body I'd be able to go after them without any trouble, but I suppose I have more pressing problems to deal with at the moment..._ " The God glances over his should for another brawl only to see Akame and Leone fighting Bols, to which he grumbles, "I guess I'll deal with Rubicante first." Rushing toward the masked fire blaster, Quake pulls his fist back to unleash a devastating punch unto his mortal flesh, but Woll blocks his path, swiftly moving between the God and his newly found prey. "More insects. Just return to the earth, you pathetic pile of flesh.", the unrelenting beast coldly demands before ripping the shield from Woll's grasp with one hand and slamming the puppet's face straight into the ground, shattering the hardened earth with his skull.

"Wolls too? What even is this guy!?", Bols mutters to himself in a panic as he takes a step back from the radiating figure as he drops the cracked shield on the seeming immobile Wolls. " _Three enemies at once, and with that one in the state he is now, I stand nearly no chance in this kind of fight..._ ", the masked fire manipulator thinks as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small detonator. "Trump Card, activate!", Bols courageously exclaims at the top of his lungs as he hurls his Imperial Arm toward the assassins, forcing Leone and Akame to dodge out of the way of his attack, but Quake just rushes the man down without a hint of self preservation showing in his actions.

As he rushes towards the confused Jaeger, Quake catches the heavy weapon and drags it along his path while thinking, " _This mortal thinks he can pull such a simple trick over on me!? A God!?_ "

"What!? He's not afraid of my bluff!?", Bols lets out a hushed gasp to himself, baffled by the enemy's boldness before the God shouts, "Foolish mortal, I already know all of your tricks! Magma Drive was your Trump Card, and if that device in your hand is what I think it is, you wouldn't activate such an attack within its range!" Quake goes to destroy Bols with devastating punch to his chest, but much to his surprise even without his head, Wolls hurls his shield to the unarmed man.

Bols quickly drops the detonator and manages to catch the twirling shield, which he quickly uses to block the oncoming attack, catching the God's glowing fist before the enforced glass starts to crack under the pressure and the raw force of the attack sends his giant body rocketing off toward the nearby woods.

As Bols flies off like a human frisbee, Kurome call out for her comrade at the top of her lungs, screaming, "Bols!", before turning to Natala and growling, "We need to retreat, now!" The blonde puppet quickly nods and with her tiny body in his arms and his Imperial Arm on his back, he carries her away as fast as he can.

Gritting his teeth in his fury, Quake glares down at the detonator Bols dropped before crushing it under his heel. "Mortals, they think they can do whatever they want with us. Even blow us up if they feel the need. I'll be sure to kill that one slowly for his insolence.", the God growls to himself as he gently sets the flamethrower down by his feet.

"Hey, partner, what are you doing? You could've just crushed that guy, you know?", Leone says with a confused look. He glares over at her and Akame points Murasame at him, prepared to fight, but they seem too tired to do so.

"You two should retrieve the Imperial Arms and head back. You've taken too much damage to be of any use in this fight. I'll head after the targets and make sure they're properly disposed of.", Quake bluntly orders before walking off on his own, leaving the two women with the Imperial Arm.

* * *

Off in the distance, Bols crashes through three hollow trees, using Wolls shield to protect himself from the wooden fragments falling around him before finally crashing down into the ground and tearing a gash into the dirt with what's left of the shield. With only a few broken bones and his body aching all over, Bols pulls himself up using a nearby tree for support before saying, "I...I made it.." He leans against the tree for a moment before muttering, "Wave, Kurome, I hope you two are alright. But Phi, she's gone. How am I gonna tell Seryu...and General Esdeath...?" He remembers all the nice times they had together as a team, having dinner together, enjoying tea, even Phi stopping over at his house to meet his daughter. "I wish...I wish we could do all that stuff again...", Bols continues to ramble to himself in his sorrow as he starts to force himself to move forward. Uncertain of anything about his path but it's away from the battle and away from that monster of a man that sent him this far, Bols treads on with his hand over his cracked ribs.

Out of thin air the flame-master hears the crying of a small child before turning to see a little girl crying as she sits next to a tree stump. The little girl has short, white hair done up into two equally long pigtails with a bright red bow on top of her head, knotted in the shape of rabbit ears and is dressed in a matching red shirt and black shorts with her shirt having a cute floral pattern across it.

The wounded soldier slowly makes his way over to the distraught girl before kindly asking her, "What seems to be wrong?"

The girl nervously looks up to the man and as their eyes meet, she screams at the top of her lungs, "AHHHHHH, A GHOST!", at the sight of his somewhat terrifying mask and terrifying figure.

"I-I'm not a ghost! Don't worry, I'm a soldier!", Bols kindly replies, trying to calm her down. His eyes look her over before finding a fresh burn mark on her left leg and kindly telling her, "You're hurt, let me help." He pulls out some bandages from his pocket and instead of using them on himself, he uses them to help this small girl in need. As he applies some medicine on her wound and lightly wraps it up, he says, "Don't worry, the pain will go away soon. And you'll be all better."

The girl gives him a warm smile as he finishes before gleefully squealing, "Thanks Mister!"

Her kind smile and words warm his aching body and heart, causing him to smile under his mask before gently telling her, "Don't worry about it."

The small girl leaps into his arms and wraps him with a unyielding hug, and as he closes his eyes he hears her whisper in his ear, "But Mister...the places that you burned...They'll never become better!" With a light stinging feeling in the back of his neck, his eyes shoot wide open before his whole body begins to go numb. The little girl quickly get enveloped by a cloud of smoke before transforming into an older girl, Chelsea.

"That girl just now, she was a child from one of the many villages that you've burned down, Bols. They were suspected of assisting the Revolution, so you burned the whole place to the ground. Although, I'm certain you don't remember a single one of them, since you burned them all in bunches.", the stealthy assassin scolds the murderer before ripping the needle from his neck and letting his body crash to the ground face first.

" _I always knew...this day would come...That I would receive judgement for my crimes against humanity...But, even so...!_ ", the bleeding giant thinks as he starts to crawl away, trying to escape his fate. "I have to... return home... They're both...waiting..", he says as he continues to pull his body along the bloodied dirt, his body slowly growing cold. He starts to cry as he see his daughter in his wife's arms. He reaches out for them and says, "I have to... return to them...", but as the image fades, so does his life. He slowly shuts his eyes and says, "I'm...sorry..."

Chelsea just leans against a nearby tree, listening to every delusional word Bols spilled as he died. "Really, fights like these are repulsive. There's no true good ending I guess. But to think Minazuki managed to launch him all the way out here...", Chelsea says as starts to walk off. She uses her Gaea Foundation to mimic Bols' appearance before thinking, " _Next is Kurome! I'll finish her off before she can regroup with Esdeath and the others!_ "

* * *

Back at a small log cabin in the woods, Leone, Akame, Tatsumi, Najenda, Susanoo, Sheele and Mine are resting after their battle with Tatsumi sitting in bed with his wounds tended to while Susanoo treats Mine's multiple gashes and bruises on her arms and shoulders. "You all took quite the beating, but at least we're certain that we eliminated one of the Jaegers today. We even got two of their Imperial Arms. This will really help in the war.", Najenda proudly notes as she turns to the Imperial Arms resting on the nearby shelf.

"Yeah, but I feel like hell though.", Tatsumi groans as he holds his wrapped lower ribs in his open hand, wincing in pain at the slightest touch.

"Me too, that whip really hurt.", Leone tiredly adds as she rubs her bruised and beaten body as she leans against a wall.

"Well at least you didn't have to dodge bullets the whole time you were fighting, Leone!", Mine shouts back at the lioness as Susanoo continues to wrap her wounded arm.

"I'm just happy we all made it out in one piece, right Akame?", Sheele cheerfully notes, looking to the brighter side of the situation before turning to Akame for her approval.

The crimson-eyed swordswoman seems lost in thought however, failing to reply as she looks silently at the Imperial Arms beside her.

Everyone's slightly confused by her silence before Najenda calls out for her, shouting, "Akame!", which snaps the assassin back into reality.

Akame quickly shakes the cobwebs out of her head before turning to Najenda and asking, "Yes, Boss?"

Najenda raises an eyebrow at the stranger than usual behavior from her trust killer and asks, "Are you alright?"

Shifting her gaze back to the ground, Akame lets out a heavy sigh and answers, reluctantly saying, "It's Minazuki. His voice and eyes were different and his overall attitude changed completely. What exactly happened to him?"

"Is it possible that was just his Trump Card? That beam thingy seemed pretty powerful.", Tatsumi quickly suggests as he raises his finger in the air only to pull a muscle and grasp at his ribs in pain oncemore.

"No, I'm certain that wasn't his Trump Card.", Susanoo bluntly corrects the injured boy as he finishes wrapping Mine's shot arm and pins the gauze in place.

"Then, what was it Suu?", Leone curiously questions the Imperial Arm.

Susanoo turns to the blonde with a cold glare before answering with, "I believe Quake has taken over Minazuki's body."

There's a moment of silence in the room and Mine just tilts her head and asks, "What? Quake? As in, his Imperial Arm? Can they do that?"

"On our first mission together, when we went out to eliminate The Ripper. Their Imperial Arm appeared to have corrupted their mind and twisted it somehow. But...could the same thing be happening to Minazuki?", Leone tells the injured sharpshooter as she looks down at Lionel around her waste.

"According to the legend. Quake was forged from an ancient ultra-class danger beast that was so rare that their power was considered to rival that of a God. It's likely that the soul inside that Imperial Arm took over during Minazuki's mental struggle after he killed Phi.", Susanoo worriedly suggests as his sharpened gaze turns to the doorway.

"Then we have to go after him and get him back, right!?", Tatsumi courageously suggests as he tries to get up from his bed, but his wounds won't let him, the pain forcing him to sit back in the bed and lean his head against his bright white pillow.

"We're all too beaten up to go anywhere right now. We need to take a minute and get our bearings.", Najenda bluntly tells the boy as she puts her hand on Tatsumi's shoulder, one of the few places he didn't get hurt.

As she says this, the doorway suddenly swings open and Lubbock walks into the room shouting, "Najenda!" She quickly turns to him and as he tries to catch his breath, he gasps out, "Najenda, Chelsea... went after Kurome...Already eliminated Bols... Don't know where...Minazuki went... She's pretending to be Bols and Minazuki might kill her!"

Najenda lets out a light sigh at this and says, "He already found a way to see past Chelsea's disguise, so that really isn't a problem. Bols being eliminated is good news. Though, I am a bit worried with having Minazuki on the loose in his current state."

"Wait, he can see through her transformation?", Tatsumi quickly asks as he tilts his head at the idea, but Leone just nods.

"I can too, but it takes a lot of effort and enhanced senses.", the tired lioness adds, earning a quick 'Ohhh' from the beaten brunette.

Najenda places a gentle hand on Lubbock's head and as she gives him a warm smile, tells him, "I'm glad you made it back alive, Lubbock."

With his face turning a bright red from her touch, he starts to nervously twitch as he mumbles, "T-thanks..."

"So, what do we do now, Boss?", Sheele quickly asks the one-eyed General, to which she crosses her arms and goes silent.

After taking a moment to think everything through, Najenda turns her eye toward her purple-haired subordinate with a confident glance."We wait this out. It's likely that Minazuki will either get to Kurome before Chelsea does or slightly after. Knowing Chelsea, she'll take her time and wait for the perfect time to strike Kurome down.", Najenda answers as she brings Lubbock further into the cabin and closes the behind him.

"I'm not sure if Chelsea could take her down. After seeing her ridiculous superhuman reflexes back there, she might be on something stronger than Akame knows about.", Mine worriedly notes as she puts her hand to her chin and contemplates it all.

"We'll have to give it some time and see if any of you feel better in about half an hour. Then, if any of you are feeling up to it, we'll send out a squad to look for Chelsea and Minazuki.", Najenda sternly replies as she makes her away over to the bed to sit down and rest for a moment.

Everyone nods in response and Leone turns her sights out through the nearby window as she thinks, " _I just hope he doesn't get himself killed before we can move out._ "

* * *

Along a dirt path through the wilderness, Kurome's walking alone, using her sheathed Yatsuhusa to help support her along the way. Finally, as she runs out of breath, she stops for a moment to catch her breath, sitting atop a small rock and pulling out a cookie from her bag of sweets to get something to eat. As she holds her cookie up to her mouth, the exhausted girl lets out a long sigh and says, "Other than Natala, Doya, and my Trump Card, they broke all my puppets. It'll probably be impossible to gather that much ability again..." After taking a quick bite from her sweet, there's a suspicious rustle from the nearby bushes, which causes the girl to jump. "An enemy!?", she quickly thinks in a panic as she turns to see what or who it may be, her hand ready to draw her blade.

Much to her surprise, Bols pops out from the forest behind her, gleefully gasping, "Ah, I knew I heard you voice! It's Kurome! You're safe, thank goodness!"

"You survived that fall, Bols? That guy sent you flying pretty far.", Kurome says in amazement as she lowers her guard, taking her hand off her hilt as she sits back down on nearby rock.

The fire-master replies with a stern nod before saying, "Before he hit me I managed to block his attack with Wolls' shield, it definitely saved my life...but I'm afraid it broke when I landed, sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Wolls' shield is small price to pay, I'm just glad you're safe...", the cheerful girl happily replies with a warm smile and a sigh of relief.

He rubs the back of his neck and says, "You're not mad at me? I lost my Imperial Arm when I got launched by that assassin too, I'm completely helpless."

"It's alright, Bols. Given the situation we were thrown in, I doubt General Esdeath will be too mad. Let's go meet up with the others and see if we can find Wave on the way there. I doubt we could get rid of him that easy.", the dark-eyed killer remarks as she pulls herself back up from her seat and the two continue down the dirt path.

" _The tone and personalities of each of the Jaegers that I learned from Tatsumi and Minazuki, they must be very accurate. She doesn't suspect a thing. And she's deactivated Yatsuhusa's ability too. But I won't attack yet. According to the reports, Kurome is doping, so I should wait for the proper opening and attack!_ ", Chelsea thinks as she continues to pretend to be Bols.

As they continue to walk down the path together, Bols glances over to his small companion and happily notes, "We'll arrive in town soon."

"Don't let your guard down Bols, they might be waiting to ambush us again.", Kurome coldly warns her companion as she gives him an equally freezing glance.

" _What's with her? There's something I can't put my finger on...She isn't making a single opening either. Maybe I should fall back for now..._ ", Chelsea contemplates as their eyes meet, causing a chill to crawl its way up her spine.

"General Esdeath will probably return soon. When she does, I'll tell her about Phi and Wave if we don't find him. You've already been through enough, Bols.", Kurome tiredly explains to him before suddenly dropping to her knees and grabbing her head in pain, dropping her Imperial Arm as she struggles to stay conscious through the pain.

"Kurome! Are you alright?!", Bols gasps in a panic as he stops to assist the shaking girl.

" _It's because I didn't get to finish my sweets earlier..._ ", Kurome mentally scolds herself as she desperately tries to force herself to stand, but her body fails her, forcing her back down to her knees.

"Are you hurt anywhere? I have medicine.", Bols kindly asks as he gently places his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"I'll be fine, I just need to eat some of my sweets is all.", she replies with a smile as she manages to reach into her bag and grab another cookie.

"You look like you're in pain... You poor think. I know, I'll say a charm to make you feel better!", Bols says, causing Kurome to smile a little more as she places her cookie in her mouth.

"Go right ahead Bols. If you think it'll help.", she replies as she starts chewing on her cookie, closing her eyes in pure exhaustion to enjoy the delightful taste of her goodies. Before she can react, Kurome feels a sharp stab in the back of her neck and when she opens her eyes she sees Chelsea where Bols was!

"There, now you won't be feeling anything anymore.", Chelsea coldly tells the injured girl, causing Kurome's eyes to widen in complete disbelief.

The lollipop assassin quickly seals the kill, tearing out the needle from the young girl's neck as she says, "Goodbye.", and Kurome falls over on the ground bleeding.

As she appears to fall over, unable to even move, Kurome rambles to herself, saying, "B..Big..Si..s...", as slowly closes her eyes.

"Both targets down. Now to head back to base.", Chelsea coldly mutters to herself as she looks down at Kurome's dead body. As she looks down at Akame's little sister, she thinks, " _This girl, her last words were 'Bis Sis'...It's unfortunate, but consider this the karma tied to our trade... Don't worry, I'll help make this world peaceful soon. And you can be reborn into it once that happens._ "

As she starts to walk away she hears Kurome say, "Hey..." She turns around to see she's actually alive and standing, ready to fight! "That charm, it isn't working...It's very painful, and I'm suffering quite a lot.", Kurome says in a crazed voice as blood drips from her forehead.

"I'm certain I hit a vital point..!", Chelsea gasps in disbelief as she reels back at this unbelievable revival.

"After Big Sis left, they made a new drug. A strong medicine that strengthens the body beyond any other drug's effect, though, the side effects do put a toll on your body. But the results are worth it! It seems that if you want to kill me, you'll have to do a lot better than that, Night Raid!", Kurome explains as she draws Yatsuhusa from its sheath, preparing to attack. Before she can as much as point her sword at the confused redhead, an overwhelming source of murderous intent rushing toward them, the frightening power behind it causing both girls to stop dead in their tracks. "What the-", Kurome begins to ask before Quake leaps down from the nearby trees, slamming his right fist down into the ground in front of them, creating a giant crater from his light attack.

The force of the impact sends both of the girls flying back and as they both look up at the God, he violently growls, "There you are, Yatsuhusa. I almost passed you up, but then I sensed your murderous intent and rushed over here! Let's finish our little dance, just the two of us! What do you say, MORTAL!?"

"Another Night Raider, damn it! I'll kill you both!", Kurome shouts in a rage as she summons her remaining puppets. "This time, I'll be sure to use my Trump Card!", she furiously adds as the earth starts to shake. Alongside Natala and Doya, out of the ground comes a beast even larger than Destaghoul, a bone dragon with large bony wings with rotting flesh, cracked scales and glowing purple eyes with its pupil's shaped like Xs.

As Quake greedily looks up at the monstrosity, he smiles and the happily shouts, "So you finally reveal yourself, Yatsuhusa! Come, let's fight like we did over a thousand years ago!" The beast doesn't seem to react to his words and Quake just chuckles to himself. "I almost forgot I was speaking in this damned human tongue. Krede Yatsuhusa! Belda cre ne dara se kell nok!", the God greets the undead dragon, shouting the last part in dragon tongue. The beast still doesn't answer and on closer inspection, he notices that the dragon's eyes are glazed over, as if he were completely blind to the world around him.

Quake furiously grinds his teeth and the world itself begins to tremble. "You insignificant piece of shit! How dare you bring this hollow shell before me and call it a Trump Card!? I WILL CRUSH YOU WITH EVERY LAST BIT OF POWER I HAVE!", the raging God roars as two nearby mountains tear away from the earth, floating high into the air like small planets.

Chelsea and Kurome both look up in complete horror as the mountains seem to explode into a million spears, all aiming for Yatsuhusa's dragon body. "THIS IS THE POWER THAT SHAPED THE VERY EARTH ITSELF! BEHOLD THE POWER OF A GOD!", Quake exclaims in his fury before unleashing a hellstorm of spears down upon the helpless girl and her puppets. Yatsuhusa attempts to block the attack with its giant bony wings, but the raw number of spears quickly shatter its defenses before spearing it through every part of its body.

"NO, Yatsuhusa! Get up! Get up and fight, damn it!", Kurome shouts in frustration as she shakes her sword at the immobile puppet. As the sheer weight of the spears plunged inside it starts to force the giant's entire body to the ground, the spears explode, ripping it apart from the inside out. It lets out a blood curdling roar before a giant earth spear pierces its skull and explodes, returning the beast to the Earth. With her Trump Card defeated in mere moments, Kurome falls to her knees before blood starts to spurt from her mouth, her weakened state causing her two puppets disappear as well.

"It seems like using such a Trump Card pushed you to your limits, mortal. I'll be sure to take my time with your death.", the furious God proclaims as he raises his open palm, causing the remaining spears to aim straight for Kurome. Before Quake can unleash his final attack on the helpless girl, the spears suddenly begin to drop from the sky, completely missing their target and landing sideways in the ground before falling over with a thunderous crash. Before he can kill her any other way, Quake violently coughs into his open hand, and when he glares down at it, he sees it's coated in Minazuki's blood. "It appears my time is running out.", he mutters to himself before turning his attention to Chelsea, who's still in complete shock from the mountains shattering. " _Even in this state, I can eliminate this insect and return his body back to his little friends in one piece. All I have to do is-_ ", Quake begins to think before hearing Wave shout, "Kurome, was that you!? I saw a giant undead dragon thing!"

"That other one's here now? How troublesome... If I want this body to stay in one piece, I'd best retreat now, before I end up pushing him too far.", the God grumbles to himself with a quick flick of his hand, cleaning his hand of the blood and staining the ground at his feet in the process. He swiftly leaps over to Chelsea, frightening her at first, before throwing her onto his shoulder and rushing off toward the meeting location.

"Hey! Where are you taking me!? Are you listening to me!? HEY!", Chelsea shouts as she continues to struggle, violently flailing her as she hits the barely familiar figure on the back with her balled up fists.

"Mortal, you're starting to irritate me. If you continue struggling like you are...I'll bury you alive and leave you to die.", the less than phased God coldly warns the girl, causing her entire body to freeze in fear for her life. Unable to move, she finally stops her struggling and before she realizes it, they're at the cabin where they were supposed to meet up at after the ambush.

The door to the cabin suddenly swings open and a bandaged Tatsumi rushes out while shouting, "Alright, now let's go find Minazuki and Chelsea! If they've run into the enemy, they'll need us now more than ever! Let's go!", before running right into the two.

After reeling back from the collision, Tatsumi looks to see that they've finally returned as Chelsea giggles at his childish expression and says, "I guess you completed your mission then. I'm glad to hear you were so worried about me though, Tatsumi~", as Quake lazily lets the girl down from his shoulder.

"Minazuki!", Leone happily calls out to the boy before seeing his monstrous eyes staring back at her.

Before anyone can mention the oddly colored eyes, Quake starts to cough up more blood into his hand before looking at it and muttering under his breath, "I guess I've enjoyed myself a bit too much. I should've known that this temporary melding wouldn't end well."

"Temporary melding? What are you talking about?", Akame curiously questions Minazuki, but only earns a deep growl from Quake.

"Mortals, they're always so curious. Well, I think I'll give your body back now, Mortal.", the tired God whispers to his partner before closing his eyes in exhaustion. When they open again, Minazuki's eye return to normal and he falls to his knees, gasping for air.

"Minazuki!?", everyone shouts as he continues trying to catch his breath. His breathing eventually slows down as he finally catches his breath before looking up at the others. They all look to him with concerned glances, but he just lets off a chuckle.

"I'll be fine.", he says as he pulls himself to his feet, struggling to stand at first before forcing himself through.

"Like hell you are! You can barely stand!", Leone shouts as she storms over to him and throws him over her shoulder before carrying him inside.

"Leone, put me down.", he weakly demands, but to no avail.

"Nope. You're getting your rest and there's nothing you can do to keep me from-", the busty blonde begins to say before he says, "I was actually going to get some rest." She's taken aback by his sudden willingness to relax and doubtfully growls, "Are you joking? You never make an attempt to recover. And you just tried to convince us you were 'fine' a second ago."

"I'll live, so in that aspect, I'm fine, but I feel like I've been trampled by a stampede of elephants. My body's sore all over, I can barely move, and even breathing seems to be a challenge right now. Maybe a few days of rest would be nice.", Minazuki tiredly replies with a slight smile as she sets him down on the bed. " _So that was the power of melding? Even though he took control, I could still feel the power flowing through my body. If that was just from a temporary melding, I couldn't even begin to imagine the power you'd receive from a natural fusion._ ", Minazuki thinks as remembers the mountains being shattered so easily.

Leone pulls the covers up to his chest and the boy turns his gaze over to the Imperial Arms resting on the nearby table. "So, you all managed to collect the Imperial Arms from the Jaegers we were able to kill?", Minazuki chuckles as he turns his exhausted attention back to Leone.

"Yeah, but don't worry about that now. You just get some rest. I'll be right here until you wake up, alright?", his partner worriedly replies as she pulls up a chair and sits by his bed.

As the boy slowly starts closing his eyes, he barely mutters off, "I think I'll do that...I'm so...tired..", before finally shutting his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

Shortly after Minazuki falls asleep, Chelsea debriefs everyone on what just happened. "He did what?", Najenda questions the red-haired assassin, her tone radiating with doubt.

"Two mountains? Like, the whole thing or what?", Tatsumi adds to the list of questions as he raises an eyebrow at the lollipop girl.

"Two whole mountains, gone.", Chelsea bluntly clarifies as she looks to Minazuki with a worried glance.

"And they were just...floating in mid air?", Lubbock add with quite the skeptical look on his face.

Chelsea quickly nods before adding, "I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't see it, so I understand your skepticism."

"To think an Imperial Arm would be able to do something of this magnitude...", Najenda mutters to herself as she turns her sights onto the boy with a worried look of her own. " _This might be another way we can defeat Esdeath. Maybe dropping a mountain or two on her would be enough to kill her, but who knows? She is Esdeath after all..._ ", Najenda contemplates as she places her metallic hand over her chin.

Before she can finish her thought however, she's cut off by Susanoo reluctantly calling out, "Chelsea..." This earns the young girl's attention as he gives her a stern glare and asks, "What was it again that he said when he unleashed this attack on Yatsuhusa's giant dragon puppet?"

"Something like, 'behold the power that shaped the world, the power of a God,' or something along those lines.", Chelsea answers him with a slightly confused glance aimed at the Imperial Arm.

"I see, so my assumption was more accurate than I thought it was.", Susanoo mutters to him as he closes his eyes and places his hands in the other's sleeves.

"What is it Suu?", Sheele nervously asks, not quite sure if she wants to know the truth.

"Originally I assumed that the legends simply meant that the Danger Beast used to forge Quake was strong enough for those from the beginning of the Empire to consider the beast to be at a Godly level, but perhaps they meant it in a more literal terminology. If so, Quake might have attempted a hostile take over of Minazuki's mind and body. After taking its toll, Minazuki's body reached its limits, so instead of forcing it even further through the process, it returned control to Minazuki and now it's waiting to strike again when Minazuki's body is able to handle the full extent of his power.", Susanoo bluntly explains as his eyes fixate on the gauntlets.

"Then, what can we do? We can't risk letting something like this happen again, right?", Leone frantically asks as she looks over her shoulder to them, still sitting by Minazuki's side.

The room grows silent before Najenda admits, "I wish I could say that we'll put Minazuki on the side for now and separate him from Quake, but we need him for the coming battle and the war."

"But Boss, it could kill him!", Leone furiously growls at the General with a burning glare aimed her way.

"And if he doesn't continue and we fail our mission, millions of others will likely die. That's just a fact. We need him to fight in the battles to come, Leone.", Akame reluctantly adds as she rubs her left arm.

Leone scoffs as she turns back to Minazuki and says, "I bet if it were Tatsumi in this situation, everyone would be on my side."

"That's beside the point! We need Minazuki's raw power to stand against the remaining Imperial Army Generals and the rest of their army!", Najenda forcefully replies as she glares back at the pissed off lioness.

Mine, uncertain of what exactly she should do, turns to Susanoo and asks, "Hey Suu, do you think Minazuki could control that power? Today, it seemed like Quake took control and used its power all on its own, but do you think Minazuki could actually control Quake and use that power himself without being taken over or whatever?"

Susanoo ponders the idea for a moment and says, "It's highly unlikely, considering how Quake could have been a literal God at one point in time, but some would say floating mountains is also an impossibility, so anythings possible at this point."

"See, there's your answer right there, Leone. He just has to control that power and he might just be fine. You're welcome.", Mine confidently tells the lioness as she looks to Leone with a cheeky smile on her face.

"You know, if I didn't promise Minazuki I'd stay by his side through this, I'd be over there strangling you right about now, Mine...", Leone bluntly threatens the pink-haired sniper as she barely glances over her shoulder to shoot her a sharp, unrelenting glare.

Mine points Pumpkin at her with a sinister grin before firing back, "I'd like to see you try, that'd be quite the pinch."

"That's enough, both of you need to calm down! Minazuki will remain on the sidelines until he feels up to returning to action.", Najenda sternly orders as she stands in between two arguing killers.

Mine reluctantly lowers the barrel of her gun as she says, "Fine, I'll let it slide this time. But only because the Boss said so."

Leone turns her attention back to Minazuki only growling back with, "Go try to intimidate someone more your size like Tatsumi."

Mine starts to grind her teeth at the lioness' sudden jab before going to fire back at her, but Sheele stops her with light hand on Mine's shoulder, earning the tiny sniper's attention. "Don't worry about it too much, Mine. She's just worried about Minazuki, and that's putting her a little on edge.", Sheele gently suggests as she brings her back to her seat.

Mine turns her burning glare back to the blonde only to find that Leone's usual carefree character has completely broken down into distress and concern as she holds Minazuki's hand, patiently waiting for him to wake up. " _Why is she so hung up over that guy? He's not even that cute or anything..._ ", Mine thinks as she turns and sits off to the side with Sheele.

With the situation back under her control, Najenda lets out a light sigh of relief before saying, "Alright, once Minazuki is able to move again, we'll start making our way to our real destination, Kyoroch."


	22. Kill the Backlash

In the small town of Romari, Wave rushes through the Eastern gates with Kurome's limp body in his arms before finally coming to a stop at the sturdy wooden doors of a classy looking hotel. With a swift boot to the door's handle, the right door wings open and the panicked seaman rushes into the main room, shocking the multiple townsfolk at the front desk. Hearing the commotion coming from the main hall, Esdeath marches her way down the hallway only to find a frantic Wave desperately shouting, "SOMEONE, ANYONE, I NEED A DOCTOR!"

As her widened eyes fall upon the unconscious Kurome in the boy's arms, the General rushes to her subordinates to investigate. Placing his two fingers against the small girl's jugular to find a pulse, Esdeath turns her burning gaze to the baffled clerk behind the desk before furiously shouting, "I need all available doctors here, NOW!"

Flinching like a timid animal at the General's sudden, dagger-filled glare, the clerk rushes down the hallway before quickly coming returning with a small army of medical staff. As one of the doctors reaches the icy General's side, he sheepishly asks her, "General Esdeath? Did you need-", but before he can finish, she shouts, "One of my subordinates is injured, she needs medical treatment!" His eyes widen in complete disbelief as they fall upon the broken looking girl in Wave's arms before he turns to his team of medical professionals and shouting, "All hands on deck, she's still with us, but barely! We need to get her to the ER ASAP!"

Three more doctors rush over to their new patient, two of who bring over a stretcher which they use to carry Kurome, taking the helpless girl's tiny body from the panicked boy's arms before whisking her away as the main doctor says, "We have the best doctors here. You can trust us to do our best. We'll inform you when we're finished patching her up, General."

As the doctor speedily chases after his comrades, Esdeath turns to Wave to see his defeated expression as the boy grits his teeth in complete anguish. Feeling his aching pride, Esdeath takes Wave's hand before guiding him back to their rendezvous room.

As soon as the door shuts, Wave slams his fist into the first wall he sees, hitting it with all his might, creating a giant crater before shouting, "Damn it all! I was too late!"

A worried Run quickly moves to Wave's side, placing a gentle hand on his comrade's shoulder as he asks, "What happened Wave? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, what happened? And more importantly, where are the others? Are they collecting the bodies of the enemy for Koro?", Seryu innocently asks with Koro firmly wrapped in her arms.

"They're dead! Kurome said that she watched Phi die in the Night Raid ambush and one of the assassins that tried to kill her apparently got Bols! They're both dead!", Wave furiously exclaims as he unleashes another quick punch into the wall, managing to crack the thick wood in his fury.

The three are all left in complete disbelief at what they just heard with Run covering his mouth in utter shock. "Bols and Phi are...dead..?", Seryu slowly asks him, her voice seeming emptier than ever before.

"And what happened to you? You're arm is bleeding.", Esdeath curiously continues as she point at the blood dripping down the length of his other arm after it had gone limp without Kurome's weight on it.

"I...When they ambushed us...Night Raid...One of their guys tried a sneak attack. I managed to block it, but it had so much force behind it, I was blown away. If I'd been there, maybe none of this would've happened!", Wave woefully admits, shouting the last part.

"I see, then there's no way I can hold you accountable for this mess.", Esdeath coldly replies as she turns her back to her subordinates, preparing to take her leave. Feeling their confused gazes burning through the back of her skull, the icy General glances back over her shoulder to them and says, "Najenda simply outplayed us this time. She targeted the team with less power, lowered your strength by blowing you away and likely picked you each off, one at a time. It's the kind of strategy Najenda likes to pull. She's always been a crafty one."

"Bols had a wife and daughter! What do we tell them!? Oh, sorry, we just got outplayed!?", Wave frantically shouts as he stomps toward the Ice Queen, earning himself a quick and merciless slap to the face from her.

"We tell them that Bols died a hero, fighting to protect the Capital. I'm heading to speak with the town mayor. Apparently, there is something he wants to speak to me about.", Esdeath coldly answers as she opens the door to leave. As Esdeath finally takes her leave, slamming the door behind her before walking alone down the hall, Seryu heads to her room with an emotionless look on her face and Koro held tightly in her arms. Wave continues to grind his teeth before trying to storm off, but Run stops him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Wave, I understand how you feel, but you need to calm down!", the levelheaded boy sternly warns his friend, but Wave quickly slaps his hand away before shouting back, "You understand!? If you truly understood, then you wouldn't say it so lightly!" Run can only muster a cold, empty glance to the boy before placing his hand over his heart and saying, "No. I am most definitely not saying this light-heartedly. I truly understand this feeling far too well, Wave...from the bottom of my heart..."

With his cryptic message sewn into Wave's head, Run takes his leave as well, heading down through the open door to his room down the hall with his face showing nothing but despair and his emotionless eyes hiding a level of pain his temperamental friend could never hope to understand through his fury.

As Wave helplessly watches as Run leaves him behind without another word, he's left alone with nothing but his own thoughts as he mutters to himself, "..Run..."

* * *

Later, after the doctors finished patching up Kurome and giving her the proper medicines, Run and Wave sit by her bedside waiting for her to wake up. Esdeath suddenly comes into the room and asks, "How is she?"

"Kurome? She's still sleeping.", Run replies as he looks over his shoulder to Esdeath.

"The doctors say that since she's lasted this long, her life isn't in too much danger, but she should get as much rest as possible to help her wound heal.", Wave explains, not taking his eyes off Kurome even for a second.

Esdeath sighs and says, "I see..." She closes the door behind her before leaning against it and saying, "I tried to track the assassins that attacked Kurome, but it seems they covered their tracks pretty well, so I had little luck there. I did find Bols' body however. He'll be sent back to the Capital and buried properly among the fallen. That is what he would've wanted after all."

"I see, and Phi and their Imperial Arms?", Run asks.

"I could not find Phi's body or either of their Imperial Arms. It's possible that Najenda was kind enough to bury Phi in some unmarked hole somewhere. She's always been soft like that.", Esdeath replies with a disheartenedly look to the floor. She suddenly remembers why she originally came for and says, "Also, we received word from the Minister from an express messenger, we have a new mission. We will leave for Kyoroch as soon as we are able."

"Kyoroch? Why?", Run asks with a confused glance to the General.

"It seems that the target we are being asked to guard may be the true target of Night Raid's journey.", she replies.

"I see, so they just beat us down on their way to their main goal then.", Run says as he quickly puts it all together.

"It seems that we truly lost this battle. Najenda, you always have some trick up your sleeve, don't you? You even used me to clean up a bandit gang while forcing my entire group to play right into your trap. However, I will not fall for the same trick twice... We will trample all of them for sure in Kyoroch!", Esdeath says as she holds her head in shame from her loss.

Suddenly, Kurome wakes up from her slumber and quickly sits up. She moves all of her fingers, toes, arms and legs before saying, "I'm all better it seems. It seems I've recovered quite a bit."

"Huh? But you were hit in a vital spot on top of that giant attack. You need to rest more.", Wave says with a concerned look.

Kurome stands up and rolls her eyes at him before turning to Esdeath and saying, "General, please let me continue to work with you."

Esdeath walks over to her with what seems like a death glare before forcefully pushing her down back into her bed. "So, you agree with me then, General?", Wave says with a confused look before getting slapped upside the head. She quickly drops a pile of paperwork on Kurome's lap before saying, "If you want to work so bad, you can fill out this report. I want to know every detail about these Night Raid members that you fought. Their Imperial Arms, their description, their favorite food, their blood type, every last little detail down the the girls' bra sizes! Do I make myself clear!?" Kurome nods before picking up a pen and starting on her large stack of paperwork. "Good, once you're done with that, you may return to active duty. But before you start, I have one question I'd like to ask you, Kurome.", Esdeath says as she starts to walk to the door.

Kurome glances up from the papers and asks, "What is it, General?"

"According to the residents of this town, there were two mountains nearby that suddenly disappeared. If you destroyed them with Destaghoul, I do not mind, but I need to know where they went.", Esdeath says with glance over her shoulder.

Kurome's hand begins to tremble before she drops the pen. "I...I didn't..destroy those mountains..", she says hesitantly.

Esdeath's eyes widen and so do the other's. "We thought you just used Destaghoul or your Trump Card and missed! So you're saying that-", Wave begins to say before Kurome cuts him off by saying, "One of the Night Raiders, his Imperial Arm must've been able to lift those mountains. He shattered them in a blink of an eye and turned them into spears. Then he used them to completely destroy my Trump Card without any effort."

"I see, so Night Raid was hiding this kind of raw power all along...", Esdeath says under her breath. She turns around to her subordinates and says, "Good enough. I'll tell the mayor Night Raid destroyed the mountains in their attack. That's all I needed to know. Back to work then, Kurome." Esdeath quickly leaves the room and thinks, " _She didn't say it was him, so I shouldn't be worrying about it...But Tatsumi did have a lot of potential. And as far as I knew, he didn't have an Imperial Arm, so if he went and joined the Revolutionary Army, then it could be...No! He wouldn't...Would he?_ "

* * *

After only a few days of hiding, Night Raid has made a small home out of a supporting hideout in Kyoroch. Tatsumi and Mine are sent out together to do reconnaissance around town, avoiding the central area where General Esdeath and her Jaegers are said to be patrolling, while Lubbock volunteered to recon the area around the church.

During that time, the remaining Night Raid members remain at the base, keeping themselves busy as they wait. Minazuki, is bedridden however, still recovering from the aftermath of his last fight. Even as a prisoner in his own bed, Minazuki tries his best to make himself useful, doing his best to transcribe the information from Shoryu's journal into Night Raid's Imperial Arms data log. As for the others, Leone, Akame and Najenda all sit with the boy, watching over his shoulders as he converts the texts for them to read.

"How many Imperial Arms did this Shoryu guy even encounter? It's almost like he has every one of them in here already.", Leone notes through her amazement as she skims through the first half of Minazuki's transcript.

"I don't know for certain, but from what I've read so far he's at least encountered thirty of them. I haven't quite memorized the data yet, but it's possible he saw them all.", Minazuki replies as he continues to write. As he finish his translation, the bedridden scribe hands over the fresh entry to Najenda for her to check, holding it out toward the woman the single piece of paper between his index and middle fingers.

As the General looks the entry over, she reads the the text out loud, saying, "Adayusu: Weapon Type: Scythe. Abilities: Not only does this mysterious scythe have the ability to split into two smaller scythes, but it also has a deadly effect that I've only seen in one other Imperial Arm, Murasame. It has a similar ability to kill its victim after only a single cut, but instead of doing so through poison, it does so by ripping the soul out of their body. Trump Card: The user unleashes the power of all the souls that Adayusu has built up inside to increase their own strength, speed and endurance. This Trump Card is deadly to both user and their opponents, considering the overall power up the user gets and the toll it has on their body during and after. By activating this Trump Card, Adayusu loses all the souls it has collected and it can not be activated again until at least one or more souls have been collected. Overall, this Imperial Arm is a slower, yet slightly more effective, Murasame with slightly more range."

Akame raises an eyebrow through her confusion toward the new entry before flipping through their book of Imperial Arms to find no trace of the deadly scythe, causing the surprised assassin to bluntly reply, "Nope, that's another one we never encountered."

"That's how many now, seven? They just keep adding up.", Leone chuckles as she looks through the new entries to their list of ancient weapons.

Minazuki gives the lioness a light nod before adding, "And we've also managed to add onto five existing entries... But I didn't think this process would take so long." Before the boy can continue, a sudden sharp pain shoots along the length of his arm, forcing him to drop his pen into his lap and grab at his aching arm as he lets out a sharp wince.

"Don't over do it! We're stopping for today.", Leone quickly growls at her partner as she picks up his supplies and sets them off to the side on a nearby nightstand.

"It seems like the toll on your body was greater than we first thought.", Akame worriedly notes as she closes the Night Raid log of Imperial Arms before placing the heavy book under her arm. " _He's still not able to walk on his own, even after resting for almost three whole days now. And whenever he starts doing something, after a while, he gets a sharp pain in the part of his body he's using._ ", Akame thinks as he looks over to him with a worried look.

"Thank you, Minazuki. This data will help the Revolution more than you may know.", Najenda kindly thanks the boy as she collects the already finished entries and heads out with Akame close behind her, leaving only him and Leone in the room.

As the door closes behind them, Leone sits down in the nearby chair next to Minazuki's bed before anxiously asking, "Do ya need anything? A drink? Any food?"

The boy simply shakes his head no before tiredly replying with, "I think I'm good for the moment, thanks." As the pain in his arm dies down, he moves it as he opens and closes his hand, clenching it into a weak fist before resting his tired arm on the bed as he lays down, his exhausted gaze focusing on the smooth, white ceiling. "I feel so useless.", he groans in his fatigue.

"Come on, don't say that! Once you're better, you'll be able to go out on missions, but for now you need to stay in bed and recover.", Leone frantically replies, hoping to make him feel better.

As a heavy sigh escapes his lungs, Minazuki turns his gaze over to his pen and paper before saying, "I understand that, but I can't even do something as simple as this without needing a break."

Leone moves over to his side before sitting down on his bed and saying, "Ya know, Lub would probably kill to be in this sort of position."

Minazuki just chuckles at the idea and says, "Yeah, he probably would. Especially if it was the Boss sitting here."

"If he wasn't such a perv all the time, she might've taken more of a liking to him. But that could be said about all the girls in Night Raid too.", the lioness cheerfully adds, taking another quick jab at the perverted wire weaver which causes her partner to smile.

"So, where's everyone now? I thought I heard the front door open and close a couple times before you guys came in.", he says as he turns his head over to her.

"Mine and Tatsumi went out together on reconnaissance around the town and Lub went to recon the area around the church for us to start planning our attack.", Leone calmly answers, earning a raised eyebrow from the boy.

Confused by what he just heard, Minazuki quickly asks, "Those two? Why didn't she send Chelsea or Sheele? I know Akame might stand out more than the average girl, but sending Tatsumi out with Mine... She might as well be sending him back to Esdeath."

Leone lets out a hearty chuckle at the boy's joke before saying, "There don't seem to be any wanted posters out this far yet, but that doesn't mean that Esdeath and the Jaegers aren't distributing them as we speak."

"I see, so since Kurome likely lived our little encounter, she might've gotten a good look at our faces in the process. Great.", Minazuki growls under his breath as he clenches his sheets in his balled up fist.

"Yeah, but at least you two came back alive. We're all happy about that.", the positive blonde adds, trying to look toward the bright side with a slight smile on her face. She lays down in bed with him, laying on her side as she rests her head next to his, before going on, saying, "Chelsea said that she was happy you showed up when you did. Kurome even told her that she was on stronger drugs than Akame could've been aware of before trying to kill her. If you didn't show up, who knows what could've happened?"

He just lets out a weak chuckle before saying, "You're making it sound like I'm some sort of hero or something. I destroyed two whole mountains in the process, remember?"

"Yeah, well, that's the cool part, right? You lifted two whole mountains and basically dropped them down on her! That's pretty cool, right?", Leone quickly adds, trying to make him feel better about what his feat.

He just smiles at her praise as he lays there helpless on the bed, looking at the ceiling with his worn out gaze as he mutters, "I hate being stuck in bed like this. I have to get back to work."

Taking advantage of his weakened state, Leone sneaks her way under the covers before pressing her warm body against his and telling him, "Don't worry, I'll make it a little better." As she wraps one arm around the boy, placing a gentle hand on his bare back, she uses her other free hand to hold his head against her busty chest, causing him to look up to her with a slightly confused glance.

"What are you doing?", he drowsily questions the girl, his voice being slightly muffled by her cleavage.

As she looks down at him with a warm grin, she glides her fingers through his short hair as she whispers, "If I'm this close to you, I should be able to sense if anything's wrong with you, using my beast sense. And since the Boss said you can't have your Imperial Arm back until you fully recover, I'll make sure to protect you until then."

Suddenly, the door swings open and Leone glances over her shoulder only to see Chelsea standing in the doorway, holding a tray of food. Chelsea's face suddenly starts to burn a bright crimson as she sees the two in bed together before frantically gasping, "Um, sorry, I should've knocked!", and rushing out of the room, quickly slamming the door behind her.

Leone just snickers before jokingly saying, "I don't know what her problem was, we weren't even doing anything. I wonder what she was planning on doing..." She turns her gaze back to the boy to see his baffled expression, but instead she finds that he's actually sound asleep with each of his warm breaths tickling the top of her chest. " _Aw, he missed it...Don't worry partner, I'll pay you back for all the times you protected me. Just watch._ ", she thinks to herself as she lays her head back down on his chest and keeps watch over him.


	23. Kill the Introductions

After hearing about the loss of her comrades Bols and Phi, Seryuu silently makes her way through the lifeless hallway with her silent killer dog firmly wrapped in her metallic arms like the peaceful calm before a storm. And as she makes her way to her bedroom, she closes the door behind her with one hand as she tightens her grasp on Koro. As the door shuts behind her, locking with a light click as she turns the latch to the deadbolt, the girl's emotionless outer shell suddenly starts to crack as tears start to well up in her eyes. "Bols...and Phi too...! That's...but they said they wouldn't leave me! They said they wouldn't leave me here alone!", the heartbroken girl weeps as she buries her face in Koro's fluffy white neck, earning a slight whimper from the concerned pup. "Why..!? Why does everyone around me keep dying!? No matter what I do, I can't save anyone...!", the helpless girl continues to sob with her eyes sealed shut in her despair as she walks over to her bed, falling face first onto the comfy mattress as her tears stain the pure white sheets and navy blue blanket.

Before her sobbing can continue, she open her reddened eyes to see her trusty companion, Koro, staring back at her with welled up eyes of his own before snuggling his face up against her chest. With little more than a quick yip, the dog returns a smile to the girl's face, though it's only a small one.

Wiping a lone tear from her eye, the justice hungry warrior runs her metallic fingers along his fuzzy ears as she lightly mutters to herself, "You always know just what to say to cheer me up, don't you, Koro?" With a quick sniffle, she gently rests her head on his as she desperately asks, "What should I do? I...I'm a failure... I can't save anyone. Some Deliverer of Justice I am, huh?"

Before she can return to her flood of tears, Koro lets out a quick series of barks, causing the girl to look down at him with a twisted smile.

"You're right, Koro. I'm not just a Deliverer of Justice, I'm more than that.", the grinning girl happily notes as she sits up in her bed with the fluffy white dog still in her lap. "Night Raid has taken everything from me, they don't deserve 'Justice', no mercy... I'll make them suffer... Every last one of them...! They'll all suffer for what they took from me! I'LL HAVE MY VENGEANCE NIGHT RAID, NO MATTER WHAT!", the out of control ball of hate and fury mentally swears as her murderous intent erupts from her body, engulfing the room in her dark, blood-thirsty rage.

* * *

A few days later, Wave is sitting alone on his bed rummaging through what belongings he has left in his trusty backpack. "Where did I put it..? I know I had another can of that stuff in here somewhere...", the boy curses under his breath as he continues to dig through his things, desperately trying to find something. He only stops at the sound of his commander calling for him, her voice coming from behind his door as she says, "Wave, are you decent? I'm coming in."

As his eyes dart over to the doorway, the General opens the door, making her way into the room as she says, "We'll be leaving in thirty minutes. I have to go retrieve our group transportation to Kyoroch. I need you to get Kurome and the others outside and ready to go by the time I get back, or you're all going to be punished.", causing the fisher boy to quickly tense up in fear. This puts a slight smile on her face as she sees the panic in his eyes, like a baby cub hearing their mother roar at them, before happily noting to herself, "Now that I think about it, I haven't tried Torture Course C in a while...maybe that'll change here shortly."

This only causes the boy to panic even further as he swiftly leaps to his feet before giving her a stern salute while saying, "As you command, General! You can count on me!"

With a near silent chuckle, the General turns back and as she heads back from where she came, she tells her subordinate, "I know I can count on you Wave, that's why I'm having you do this. Now don't disappoint me."

As Esdeath closes the door behind her, Wave's stern, proper posture quickly shatters as he gasps for air, falling backwards onto his bed with his arms sprawled out wide. And as he slams into his mattress, all the air he just sucked into his lungs gets launched out in one great big sigh. "No pressure Wave, you just have to get everybody to listen to you and get every last one of them organized and outside in thirty minutes or we're all going to be put through 'C' again... Why did it have to be 'C'..!?", the exhausted boy groans to himself as he places a hand on his forehead. "Guess I better get on the move, or everyone's really gonna hate me...", he tiredly belittles himself before forcing his body back up off the bed before standing up to head for the door. As he takes his first step however, he knocks over his back and a series of trinkets and bobbles seem to roll out onto the floor. "No, not my fishing gear!", the young fisherman gasps in his panic before rushing to clean up his mess. As he does so, placing his things back into his bag, he's met by a glistening light that weaves its way up from the bottom of his bag to greet him. His eyes widen in glee as he reaches down inside to pull out a short can of fish. "There it is! I knew I had a spare in there somewhere! This can of Charge Fish has all kinds of nutrients, and considering Kurome's recent eating habits her body could use the extra boost this thing would give her.", the boy gleefully notes as he smiles at his own reflection in the can's shiny metal exterior. As he rushes out through the door with his backpack sloppily slung over his shoulder, he quickly knocks on the door to Kurome's room as he shouts, "Hey Kurome! I got something for you!" The boy patiently waits for a response with a slight smile on his face as he looks down to the nutritious can of fish in his left hand, but he's only met with silence. "She's not asleep at a time like this, is she..?", Wave worriedly ponders as he looks down to the bronze door handle. He hesitates at first, but as the boy quickly building up the courage to enter the forbidden land and sternly telling the young assassin, "The Commander wants us all ready to move out in thirty. If we're late we'll all be put through the 'C' treatment. That one's really painful, remember?", he opens the door to find a terrifying sight waiting for him: Kurome down on the wooden floor desperately trying to pull herself up to her feet with the sheath of her blade. "Kurome!", the boy worriedly calls out to her as he rushes to her side, kneeling down on one knee to check on her condition.

"I...I'm o...I'm okay...", Kurome grunts through the pain, trying to answer the boy as she nearly pulls herself off the floor before crashing back down to her knees with a thud.

"Like hell you are! You stay here, I'll get Run and Seryuu, and I'll tell the Comman-", Wave begins to growl as he turns away to go get help, but before he can leave her side Kurome grabs him by the coattail of his jacket as she gasps, "-wait!"

There's a short pause as he looks back to the trembling girl as she tells him through her pain-filled breaths, "..Those in the Assassination Squad... When they're found to be...to be unable to continue fighting, they wou-... To keep them quiet, they're disposed of." The boy's eyes widen complete disbelief at what he's heard, but the girl continues on, turning her gaze to the ground as she barely mutters out, "If I'm kicked out of the Jaegers...and I'm sent back like this...I'll be..."

Before she can continue any further however, Wave quickly stops her despair, firmly grabbing the girl by her shoulders as he furiously proclaims, "You'll be okay! All we have to do is tell General Esdeath! She'll protect you, she'll protect everyone!"

Kurome only shakes her head at his plan though, refusing his idea as she groans, "That's no good... I-I have to keep fighting. I don't want to be disposed of! I wasn't born into this damned world to just die, not like that!" In her fury, Kurome finally manages to push her body far enough to get back onto her feet and though her footing is still shaky, she manages to blurt out, "..If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die fighting! I won't disgrace them like she did, I won't betray them, I refuse! I'll keep fighting to the bitter end!" As she finally regains her footing along with control over her trembling body, she forces a smile across her face as she looks down at the baffled Wave and tells him, "You don't need to worry about me, Wave. I'm all right now. I'm sorry I worried you. As long as the wound heals, I'll be in tip top shape. And as far as getting ready, I'll be ready to move out in a minute. I already packed my bag last night just in case."

As Wave stands up with her, he looks deeply into the girls smile, and as he sees the pain hidden behind her eyes, he thinks to himself, "Kurome...You're not just trying to convince me that you're okay, you're trying to convince yourself too... Ever since that injury, you haven't been able to muster up the strength to summon your puppets for more than a moment... I might not have been of much use this whole time, and you guys might've been pulling my weight for me, but that ends now! Now, I'll be pulling my own weight, and yours too, Kurome..."

The boy's quickly pulled out of his courageous and manly claim by a quick flick to his forehead, and as he quickly winces out from the sharp pain, Kurome giggles to herself before saying, "Come on, I thought you were a fisherman, so why is your head so full of air?" As he looks back at her with a slightly pissed glare, she only smiles back at him as she adds, "We still have to get the others ready, right? Come on, we better hurry. Like you said, 'C' isn't something anyone wants to deal with, so we better make this quick."

As the revived assassin cheerfully leaves the room to get the others, Wave thinks to himself, "She's really something else, isn't she? Next stop, Kyoroch."

* * *

As the four Jaegers stand together in what looks like a series of dressing rooms hidden behind five crimson grand and expensive mansion, each of the subordinates waiting patiently outside as their commander happily hums to herself from behind her curtain. The two boys are dressed in full suit and ties, Wave's being a classic black and white suit while Run's is a pure white suit with both boys having dress shoes that match their suits. The girls however are wearing lovely dresses, Kurome's being a shorter red dress that reaches down to her mid thigh while Seryuu's dark green dress reaches down all the way to her ankles. And though Kurome's dress has fluffy, elbow length sleeves, Seryuu's doesn't have any sleeves, instead it only has two simple straps over her shoulders along along with the two near shoulder length white gloves that hide her metallic arms. As the uncomfortable fisherman tries to fix his lopsided necktie, Seryuu pulls at the top of her dress, airing her chest a bit as she groans, "This...doesn't feel right. I've never worn a dress before, they're so...inconvenient. What'll happen if something happens? I can't fight in heels."

Run reassures her however, telling the nervous girl, "It looks good on you though, Seryuu. You should try dressing up more often. And as for you Wave, maybe you should try this less.", as he helps the defeated boy adjust his tie back into place.

"It's a welcoming party, Seryuu. You should relax and learn to enjoy yourself a bit more. And if my guess is correct, we'll have some interesting entertainment.", the General tells the worried soldier girl as she reveals her new gold and black dress and her black hair band holding her hair back to the group. As the group looks at her new appearance with a series of confused and baffled expressions, the woman sternly orders, "Alright, you can pick your jaws up from off the floor now. We don't want to keep anyone waiting now, do we?", before marching her way down the nearby hallway with her Jaegers following quickly behind her.

After making their way through the maze of hallways, the group finds themselves in a large dinning room full of loyal men of the Path of Peace religion dressed in long white robes along with matching pure white caps on the tops of their heads that have fabric additions on each side to cover their ears. And at the very end of the room, sitting atop a stone throne adorned with two golden pillars with each holding a large container of strong, purple haze-like incense is the Adviser to the head of this religious movement: Borick. As the man looks down at the Jaegers with an unimpressed smile, dressed in royal robes, puffy white pants, pointed leather boots, and his religious cross-adorned hat. With two beautiful women with their heads resting comfortably in his lap with his hand gently guiding them closer to his crotch as a third girl erotically licks away at the tip of his boot. "My my my, I've been feeling awfully threatened as of late. I even asked the Prime Minister to send me a bit of reinforcements to help protect me, but I never expected this!"

"General Esdeath, one of the Three Elemental Generals of the Empire. What a wonderful sight~", a twisted voice happily notes from the partial shadows as the General shifts her sights to the source of the voice, a strange looking man with short blonde hair cut in the form of a bowl cut wearing sunglasses, a black dress shirt under a white dressy overcoat, white gauntlets to protect his hands and upper arms, matching white dress pants and dress shoes carrying a large unique scythe looking weapon over his shoulders.

Borick lets out a light chuckle at the ominous, scythe wielding man before continuing on, saying, "Sorry about him, that's Horimaka, my personal body guard and most loyal of servants. His faith knows no bounds and he's sworn to protect me with his very life, as I hope you all will also work to achieve in these coming days."

Taking a closer look at the strange looking weapon on the man's shoulders as he stands up to his feet and grins wildly at the group, thinking to herself, "That weapon...could it be an Imperial Arm?"

Noticing the discontent on the General's face, Borick quickly claps his hands before cheerfully telling the cold woman, "Don't worry yourself so much, General. There are only my loyal servants at this party. Feel free to enjoy yourself at your leisure." As he motions for the group to look over to his right, they see a group of prostitutes, both men and women alike all dressed in scandalous clothing and their eyes seeming empty with the only thing left being gleaming lust, he seductively suggests to the group, "Why don't you all take a load off? I doubt any of you will be bored in my mansion. Our entertainment comes in all shapes and sizes as you can see her~"

The General only rolls her eyes at the vulgar man's intentions, only replying with, "We were tasked by the Prime Minister himself to guard you, and my subordinates here are beyond devoted when it comes to achieving our goals. As for me, I only have one man who I'd give my body to, so I'm afraid I'll have to refuse your 'entertainment.'"

"Awww, is that so? Now that's most unfortunate. I'm afraid I don't have any other entertainment planned for today~", the lustful Adviser begrudgingly admits as he fondles one of the two girls in his lap, grabbing his fill of her breast as he greedily squeezes and pulls on her body.

As Seryuu looks to the man with disgust, Esdeath lets out a chuckle before asking, "No other entertainment? Then what do you call those you have spying on us from the ceiling?"

This causes her subordinates to quickly tense up as they look to the rafters to see four strange figures scattered among the stone fixtures holding the ceiling up.

"Oh, so you noticed them then? Horimaka's intuition about you was right all along, nothing just slides by you, does it?", the Adviser tiredly notes with a quick snap of his fingers, summoning the figures down from the rafters for all to see. As the four figures stand at the lustful traitor's side, he introduces the group, saying, "Once I told the Prime Minister about my little situation, he allowed me to 'borrow' this lot from the Empire to help further purify the church. They are the very picture of violence!"

"The Rakshasa Demons.", Esdeath finishes as the four almost monstrous figures look back at her, their eyes seeming to glimmer with a never ending bloodlust.

From left to right there is a smaller, petite girl with tan skin, green eyes and long blonde hair tied back into twintails that reaches down to the middle of her back, being tied up by two golden horseshoes, dressed in a light grey leggings held up by a brown leather belt along her waist along with a completely unbuttoned shirt hanging from her elbows that fails to cover her golden colored bikini top hiding her breasts and the light amount of black armor tightly wrapped along her forearms. To her left is a mountain of a man with a heavily muscular build and unkempt black hair seeming to jet out from both sides of his head and his face like a living series of blades with a fairly bald dome at the top of his skull. His eyes are a freaky yellow with the whites of his eyes dyed a crimson red with his self-contained rage. He's wearing a standard pair of pants, at least for a man of his size, that appear to be the same color as the first girl's leggings, along with a torn shirt that reveals most of his right side and his perfect twelve pack abs. And strangely enough, the man wears a thin armor along the lengths of his forearms and a fairly large pauldron on his left shoulder. Another woman stands to the intimidating man's left, having long black hair done up in a high ponytail that flairs out like a porcupine, clear cut bangs allowing her unobstructed sight, and two long strands of hair along the sides of her face reaching all the way down to her chest. She has dark black eyes, a scar along the right side of her face that reaches from her cheek bone to the left side of the bridge of her nose. The woman is dressed in what looks like a shrine maiden's outfit, wearing a looses kimono, that reveals her cleavage only slightly, along with a single black breast guard over the right side of her chest and more light-weight black armor plating along her forearms. And then finally there's the fourth demon, another heavily muscular man with skin that seems to rival snow itself, which is marked with many tattoos that range from his face down to his neck and along his upper arms, appearing much like stitches. He's not wearing much, only dawning a pair of shorts that reach down to his mid thigh and armor plating along his forearms. And as for his light purple hair, it appears to be the longest of the demons, being done in two small braids that reach down the entire length of his mighty back along with his two long bangs framing his face, allowing his strange mostly black eyes with blue pupils to really stand out among the four.

"Oh my, here I was wondering all this time where you four had gone in the Capital and you've been here this whole time. To think that Prime Minister would send all four of them out here, he must really value you, Borick.", Esdeath notes in slight shock as she grins at the sight of the four demons.

As the sinister Adviser meets her with an equally satisfied grin, Borick tells the Jaegers, "Now that you and your team are here, General, I can finally switch both these demons and Horimaka from defense to offense. And who knows, they might even deal with those pesky Night Raiders for you, hm?"

"Don't underestimate them!", Seryuu furiously blurts out, stepping forward towards the Adviser as he raises an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. "These aren't your standard assassins, they're ALL evil Imperial Arms users! If you want any chance of taking them on and coming back alive, you have to fight them with Imperial Arms or you'll be slaughtered! Please don't be so re-", Seryuu continues to shout before she's met with a light tap on the back of her neck. She glances back to see the purple haired demon standing behind her, greedily licking his lips. Her eyes widen in complete disbelief as she thinks to herself, "B-but how!? I didn't even see him move!"

"There's no need to worry about that, we've dealt with their kind before with just our bare hands, just like this. Your spirit's there kid, but in all the wrong places. You and your buddies here should just sit back, drink some wine, and let the pros deal with this little mess.", the demon suggests through his lip licking with his nails lightly gliding along the back of the girl's neck.

"Besides, we've already retrieved and presented five Imperial Arms to the Prime Minister. As for Horimaka here, he's managed to get two, but he also has an Imperial Arm of his own so that more than makes up for that. I'm Suzuka by the way.", the black haired woman quickly adds with five fingers raised up on one hand and two on the other as she counts the number of Imperial Arms they've helped obtain for the Empire.

The giant standing next to Suzuka crosses his arms before calmly nodding and telling the group, "Imperial Arms may be strong, but their users are nothing more than human. They aren't special Gods or anything, they just have an impressive little toy, nothing more."

"What Sten is trying to get at is they're just some typical guys, right? If they're human then they have all the same weaknesses, right?", the small blonde adds with a cheeky smile as she places a hand on her hip.

"As you can see, my men are more than capable of handling this kind of situation. The four were executioners under the Minister's command after all, so this level of skill is only to be expected, no?", Borick happily adds before the unexpected sound of dragging metal gains everyone's attention.

It's Horimaka, and he's standing behind Ibara with the blade of his scythe placed under the burly man's left arm and across his chest, reaching all the way past the demon's neck and over his other shoulder. "Ibara, I thought I made myself clear last time, don't scare the girls off with your creepy tongue gag. Do you have a death wish or something?" With the blade starting to glow an ominous purple, Horimaka lets out a light chuckle before quickly noting, "You know, I haven't had a demon's soul before. I wonder what it'd taste like~"

"Maybe I am? What of it? Like some clown in a suit like yourself could ever hope to take me down.", Ibara quickly fires back as his twisted gaze turns to the reaper, completely ignoring the blade pressed against his chest and neck.

As Ibara's wicked glare meets Horimaka's piercing stare, and with their murderous intents radiating off of their body they prepare to kill one another, but before either one can make the first move they're both met with a quick chill as blades made of ice are placed to their necks. Much to their surprise, Esdeath has moved in between the two and created herself a couple ice daggers that she's now using to subdue them. "I believe that's enough out of both of you. We're under the threat of assassination at any moment, so turning on one another like this isn't helping any. If you want to fight, take it somewhere else, or I'll turn you both into a couple icicles and be done with it." With no other choice but to stand down, both fighters pull back their murderous auras as Horimaka lowers his blade in respect and Ibara does the same with his hand. Seeing this, Esdeath lowers her weapons in suit before sternly warning the two beasts, "Regardless of your achievements, neither of you should let your guards down for even a moment, because the second you do, that's when Night Raid will strike you down."

"Amazing, truly amazing~ If you keep threatening me like that, I might just fall for you, General~", the long tongued demon confesses as he lustfully smiles at the amount of power she showed.

Horimaka however, simply throws his weapon back over his shoulder before growling back, "Then you really do have a death wish.", as he slowly makes his way back over to Borick's side.

"These demons...and that Horimaka, they're something else...", the General mentally growls as Ibara slowly makes his way back over to his fellow demons, his right hand hovering over his heart as he clenches his muscular chest with a smile.

"That was some first impression, right Kurome?", Wave jokingly asks the girl, but she doesn't reply. When he turns to see what's wrong, he notices she's somewhat dazed, almost lost in her own little world of memories. As the girl lets out a heavy sigh, the worried boy places a gentle hand on her shoulder before whispering to her behind his other hand, "Hey, are you feeling alright?"

The girl only looks to him with a confused glance at first before begrudgingly asking, "Do I really look that bad?", to which he bluntly answers, "Yeah, pretty bad." The girl gives her cheeks a quick pat, causing them to turn a bit red like a blooming rose before lightheartedly replying, "I'll take care, thanks."

This doesn't quell the boy's worries however, and as the girl turns toward the General, he sees that the wound on the back of her neck had been bleeding through her bandages, creating a patch of crimson in the peach colored gauze. "Don't worry Kurome, I'll pick up the slack... I swear!", the boy furiously proclaims in his mind as he lets the girl go, not wanting to cause her any further discomfort with his nagging.

* * *

After their meeting, Seryuu is sitting on her bed in her soldier garb as she takes in her surroundings. As she looks around, she sees mirrors plastered on the walls and ceiling, one sided mirror windows, and at the head of the bed on top of the headboard is an open box with condoms, lubricant, and a few other toys inside. This only infuriates the justice warrior, irritating her to the point of throwing the whole box into the nearby trash can next to her nightstand. "This place...it's completely indecent..!", the frantic girl mentally exclaims as she quickly kicks the metallic can across the room. As the can crashes against the wall, her bedroom door creeks open and when she quickly glances up to see who it is, she sees General Esdeath standing in the doorway with a hand on the door. "G-General Esdeath! I'm sorry, did my outburst bother you!?", Seryuu nervously gasps as she straightens her posture while giving the blue haired woman an unyielding salute.

"No, I simply came to talk is all.", Esdeath calmly replies as she enters the room, silently closing the door and locking it behind her with a light click.

As the girl stands down, she raises an eyebrow at her courageous leader before asking, "Talk? About what, Commander?"

"As the commander of this team, I'm responsible for overall well being of every single one of you. That includes both physical and mental health. Now, tell me what's been eating at you.", the lighthearted General worriedly questions her subordinate as she places a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.

The girl is reluctant at first, only quietly telling the General, "I'm fine, Commander. No need to worry.", but when the Ice Queen hits her with a less than convinced glance, Seryuu starts to break down. "It's just... My mentor, my friends, even you, I keep failing everyone... Every time...every time I try to face these evil-doers, they manage to pull one up on me! I'm sick of it! I just want to crush these Revolutionary scumbags and be done with it!", Seryuu furiously proclaims with tears welling up in her eyes like puddles of despair.

"I see...", the worrisome General mutters to herself as she raises her hand to her chin. "So this is what she's been hiding all this time... She's feeling guilty for all of my failures.", the General swiftly notes in her mind as she pulls the crying girl into her arms, nearly smothering her in her warm embrace. "Seryuu...", the motherly Commander calls out to the girl as she loosens her grip on her. Then, as the girl glances up to her General's smiling face, her eyes still watering from her dismay, Esdeath continues as she gently tells her, "...none of this is your fault. If anyone is at fault here, it's me. I let my guard down and Najenda was able to best me. But now, now we have an opportunity to pin them down and execute them like the rats they are. But to do that, I'm going to need your help, Seryuu."

This causes the soldier's tears to slowly dry up, and as she wipes away a stray tear with her metallic finger, she sniffles, "Really? How?"

As Esdeath lightly runs her ice cold fingers through Seryuu's orange hair, slowly calming the girl's aching heart, she tells the sobbing soldier, "Though the Rakshasa Demons are most definitely strong, this is Najenda we're talking about. If we want to properly combat her and her forces we'll need to use all of our resources that we can give. If Wave, Kurome, Horimaka and myself all stay behind to protect Borick, you and Run can accompany two of the Demons on their patrols. That leaves us with three teams of two, which would be much more potent than sending out four separate Demons, wouldn't you say?"

With her tears finally drying up, Seryuu replies with a quick nod before asking, "But...why me? Why not send Kurome or Wave?", to which the General simply chuckles.

"Well, you've been under a great deal of stress recently, and after losing Bols and Phi, I thought you'd like to get a bit of payback, am I right?", the sadist General wickedly replies, earning herself a sly grin from the young girl.

As Seryuu's grin widens into a completely evil smile, a fire seems to ignite in her eyes, one full of hatred and murderous intent, as she happily asks, "When do you want us to move, Commander? I have some Justice to deliver unto those heathens!"

"You all will be leaving immediately. The sooner we snuff out these Revolutionaries the better.", Esdeath quickly replies as she frees the wicked girl from her grasp and turns to leave. And as she looks back at her over her left shoulder with a gentle glance, she tells Seryuu, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Seryuu. You're doing perfectly fine. Now come on, we both have to get back to work."

* * *

Outside of the mansion's grand entrance, Esdeath stands on the nearby steps to give herself added height as she glares down at Run, Seryuu and the Four Rakshasa Demons. "Alright, as you can probably guess, our search for the Revolution's forces will start immediately. You all will be divided into three teams of two to properly distribute power evenly across each team. Each team will have a master of close combat and someone for ranged combat, allowing for all teams to attack from a variety of ranges. Now, as for the teams themselves, Sten and Mez, after considering your overall skills I've decided to make you at team and have you patrol the commercial district."

As the two demons hear this, they look to each other, Sten having a wicked grin on his face while Mez has a gentle smile on her's before the two quickly turn to the General and nod in agreement with her idea.

"Ibara and Run, you'll be the second team. With Ibara's close quarters capabilities and Run's Mastema, you two should be able to take down most enemies you encounter during your search of the town outskirts, and if you happen to stumble across anything you two can't handle without proper back, you can use Mastema's trump card to escape.", Esdeath sternly continues with her explanation, before Ibara lets out a heavy chuckle.

"We Demons do not run! There's nothing that our bodies cannot handle~", the demented killer resentfully replies before turning his sights on Run and growling, "And as for you, pretty boy, you better not slow me down."

Run simply fakes a smile as he lightheartedly tells the Demon, "It'll be an honor to work alongside one of the Four Rakshasa Demons. I'm looking forward to seeing your Body Control technique you all are known so well for."

With a loud cough, the General regains everyone's attention before continuing with the final pairing, saying, "And finally there's Suzuka and Seryuu. With Suzuka's stealth capabilities and Seryuu's detectors, you two should be able to snuff out any nearby spy hideouts. Without their spies to feed them the important information they need, they won't be able to move around as freely as they'd like. Eliminating these targets are high priority, as this would severly cripple Night Raid and their overall movements."

As the maiden-like demon glances over to her new partner, she looks the girl up and down as she thinks, "She's definitely adorable, but she's no General Esdeath..." She quickly extends a hand out to her new partner before quickly telling her, "Well, it's a pleasure to be working with you, Miss Seryuu. I hope we get along~"

Seryuu's a bit confused at first, but eventually takes the woman's hand and as they give one another a hearty shake of the hand, Seryuu happily replies, "Same here~ Let's have a bunch of fun bringing these menaces to justice, together."

"Alright, you all have your orders! Go out and bring us one step closer to finally ending this idiotic revolution once and for all!", Esdeath furiously orders, and in turn the three groups quickly split up to execute their missions.

But as Seryuu sprints after Suzuka, she nervously asks the Demon, "Wait, if we're hunting down spies, where do we find them?"

Suzuka only chuckles at the girl's question before gleefully telling her, "You know what they say, the weak tend to group together. All we have to do is use your sensors to find a large group of people in a strange location and then we've found our little rats, and we're the exterminators. And who knows, if Night Raid really is here in Kyoroch, then we might just bag ourselves quite the rat, huh?"

This puts a enthusiastic smile on the young soldier's face and as Koro desperately holds onto the girl's shoulder for dear life, she mentally chuckles to herself, "I'm coming for you, Night Raid~"

* * *

Atop of the Kyoroch commercial district's rooftops, Mez and Sten are on the prowl, watching over the unsuspecting citizens as they look for any signs of suspicion. As the young blonde watches a young couple cuddling on a bench, sharing a single ice cream cone, she lets out a long, heavy sigh as she puts the left side of her face into her palm with a light smile aimed their way. As she happily moans, "Love is just in the air tonight~", the less than amused bolder of a man just growls before scolding her, saying, "You should take this more seriously, Mez. Our targets could be hiding right under our noses." Unsurprisingly to the overly muscular demon, Mez quickly blows off his worries with a wave of her hand, and as she continues to focus on the loving couple, she tells him, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of guard duty. We've been stuck watching over that baffling idiot for far too long, and now...now I just want to go out and enjoy myself."

"Couldn't you just do that with the entertainment Borick provides then? They're just as disposable as any civilian you pull off the streets.", Sten quickly retorts as he focuses his gaze down on a small section of the commercial district, mainly near the food stands as vendor after vendor desperately try to convince a lone boy to buy their goods, but the boy simply shrugs them off as he takes a swig from his stainless steel flask.

The bubbly demon lets out a light giggle as she turns her sights back to her parter and tells him, "I have more refined tastes, Sten. Besides, I'm not looking for just any man to put it in me, I'm looking for passion, romance...you know?" As she continues on, saying, "We might call ourselves demons, but we're still humans, right? We still have basic desires, feelings. It can't be helped.", she turns her gaze back down to the streets below and her eyes instantly fall on that boy with his flask.

He's dressed in a pair of dark black pants with matching tennis shoes, a nearly all white t-shirt, and brown cloak which has a hood covering his short green hair. "So you've noticed him then?", Sten chuckles through his wide grin as he sees his partner's sights following the boy's movements.

"Yeah, he's definitely surveying the area. And from the looks of him, he isn't any ordinary numbskull tourist. His movements are both methodical and optimized to maximize the amount of area he covers while minimizing the attention he brings onto himself... A black hat, maybe?", she quickly notes as they shadow the boy, leaping from rooftop to rooftop all while making sure to stay out of his lines of sight.

As Sten and Mez both duck behind a set of barrels for cover during their special operation, the man lets out a hearty, yet hushed chuckle before adding, "My warrior instincts are just shouting that he's an enemy. Those aren't the movements of a fresh pup either. No, he's definitely an experienced fighter all right, one who's likely braved many battles. He thinks he can hide that from me, but I can tell, he's no push over. You know what we have to do now, right?"

"Yeah...", Mez begrudgingly groans under her breath as she peeks out from behind the barrels to see the boy making his way down the street, his head held high with a light blush coming across his grinning face. "Aw, he's cute too~", the desperate girl mentally cries out in dismay as she retreats back behind their cover. "We'll kill him quickly...", Mez regretfully suggests as she turns her gaze only to be greeted by a wicked smile from the buff brute next to her.

As Sten's evil grin only widens, he cheerfully replies with, "No Mez, call it 'the freeing of his soul.'"

* * *

With the full moon high in the sky and the cool night's wind gently sweeping through the streets, Seryuu is persistently searching for any sign of strange activity on her wrist mounted Justice City Detector. As she impatiently glares down at the device, seeing the countless dots across her screen with each blip, she glances over her surroundings, thinking, " _Nothing out of the normal here either... It's almost midnight and we still haven't obtained any information to bring back to General Esdeath. Maybe...maybe we should head back..._ "

Before she can make the suggestion to return to the General, Suzuka gleefully calls out to her, saying, "Hey Seryuu~" As the confused girl turns to the demon, she nearly runs face first into a rice cake that Suzuka is generously holding out to her. "Come on, you didn't eat anything before we left for our mission, so you have to be starved, right? Go on, take it.", the motherly demon offers as she basically forces the food into her free hand.

"B-but we're on a very important mission for General Esdeath! We couldn't possibly stop for something as trivial as eating! We need to stay vigilant, or else...", she begins to refute before Esdeath's strict voice rings through her head, almost scolding her as she remembers the General telling her, " _I'm responsible for all of your overall well-being, that includes both your physical and mental health._ " Blankly staring down at the snack just forced upon her, Seryuu hesitantly raises it to her mouth as she thinks, " _I...I don't want to be a burden... I need to take good care of myself if I don't want the Commander to worry._ ", before finally taking a quick nibble from the rice ball. Tasting the richness of this sweet treat, the girl's eyes widen in complete disbelief as she turns to Suzuka and gasps, "W-what is this!? I've never encountered anything like this before back in the Capital before! It's so good!"

Seeing the young girl's cheerful and bewildered expression, a warm smile comes across Suzuka's face as she tells the girl, "That's because there isn't anything like this back in the Capital. Kyoroch is full of all kinds of culinary wonders the likes nobody from the Capital could ever hope to imitate, at least not properly." As the girl continues to chow down on her treat, Suzuka sees a shadow suddenly dart across the street, seeming to rush down a dark alley as she went to turn her head to face Seryuu. " _There they are~_ ", the demon mentally cheers to herself as she turns her delighted smile to the mouth of the alley the shadow escaped down. She then turns to the orange-haired soldier, who's mouth is now stuffed full of rice, before telling her, "Alright Seryuu, it looks like we've got our first lead of the night. I hope you saved some room for dessert~" She then tugs the girl along, guiding her to the entrance to the long alley way before looking down at the girl's radar to find the shadow is quickly making his escape through the labyrinth of connected alleyways. "This way!", Suzuka quickly orders as she pulls the confused soldier along with her.

"You found a lead, but-but how!?", Seryuu gasps as Ko quickly snatches the last of her riceball from atop her right shoulder, using his giant mouth with razor sharp teeth to devour the last of the goodie with a single chomp.

"When we first left for our mission, I noticed a man hiding in the shadows near the front gate. So I only did the logical thing and pretended to ignore him as he's been following us all night. It would appear that he's collecting information for the Revolution, but more importantly he'll likely relay that the Rakasha Demons are in Kyoroch to the rest of those Revolutionaries. And we can't have them getting that information so freely now, can we~?", Suzuka quickly explains the situation to the confused girl as they speed down the alley, only to screech to a sudden halt as they come to a corner. As the duo presses their backs along the wall and glance down at the radar on Seryuu's wrist, they see the dot has stopped. With a finger pressed to her lips to shush the girl, Suzuka turns her head and silently listens in on the man's panicked ramblings.

Between his heavy wheezing for air, the man fearfully mutters to himself, "T-the Rakasha Demons!? Here of all places!? I-I have to inform the others! If those monsters are truly all here in Kyoroch to protect Borick, then we'll have to change our plan of attack for sure! This is bad, very very bad!", before finally catching his breath. He turns his gaze down the dark and narrow street, and seeing no signs of life or his being followed, he breathes a sigh of relief as groans out, "At least they didn't spot me. I could've sworn that Suzuka spotted me for sure, but I guess that Jaeger girl kept her distracted enough for me to escape, and their little tracking device wouldn't be able to track me through a crowd like that anyways. All I have to do now is meet the others at the old factory and I'm home free~", cheering that last part as he triumphantly throws his hands in the air as he escapes the jaws of death, or so he believes.

"Congrats~ Here, let me give you a pat on the back for your efforts.", Suzuka congratulates the spy, causing his eyes to widen in complete horror as he turns around only to be met with ten arrow-like spears stabbing him through his chest. As Suzuka makes her way into his line of sight, her extended fingernails continuing to dig their way through his body as they finally erupt from his back, she snickers to herself before telling him, "You really thought you could escape one of us? You really must be inexperienced~" With his blood leaking down the lengths of her stretched out fingers, the spy lets out his final words, a jumble of words that are beyond comprehension through the blood welling in his mouth, before finally succumbing to his many injuries. And as she reels her finger back to their normal size, the man's body crashes to the ground dead as dead can be in a pool of his own blood.

After rummaging through the dead man's cloak, Suzuka finds a small journal and as she opens it, she's surprised to find it's full of all kinds of secrets, turning to Seryuu and telling her, "This book holds not only the full layout of the mansion, but also the location of the hidden underground escape route under the graveyard that leads to the mansion! These don't seem to be fresh notes either...no, they already know about that passage! We need to deal with these pesks right away!" The demon quickly rises back up to her feet and with determination burning in her eyes, she rushes down the alley while shouting back to Seryuu, "That place that man talked about, I think I know where it is! Follow me!"

"A factory, right? But where would we-", the soldier begins to question her, following right beside the demon as she matches her speed perfectly during their hunt, but Suzuka cuts her off with a swift answer, telling the girl, "It's an old abandoned factory along the riverside. It was used to mass-produce cloths before it was one day attacked by a powerful Danger Beast that left the structure of the building incredibly unstable. It's a ways outside of town and the area has since been considered too dangerous for even most skilled hunters to enter. It's the perfect place for those rats to hide!"

"You hear that, you Revolutionary trash!? We're coming for you!", Seryuu furiously growls to the sky as they leave Kyoroch through the west gate, heading straight for their new object; the nearby abandoned factory and secret Revolutionary Spy hotspot.


	24. Falling to Pieces

With the icy wind blowing along his face as he makes his way through the silent alleyway, Lubbock is flying through the air with the help of his Imperial Arm by launching and wrapping his wires around the balconies high up on the nearby building, allowing the boy to swing from balcony to balcony like a superhero as he reels in his trusty threads. As he turns his frightened gaze back towards his pursuers, he sees the two Rakshasa Demon as they're easily keeping with his valiant efforts to escape on foot. With a bit of extra motivation forcing him forward with the radiant murderous intent surrounding the two demons, Lubbock jets forward oncemore as he quickly thinks to himself, " _Shit, they're still tailing me! I've gotta shake them somehow! How did they even figure me out, they just attacked me out of nowhere!_ "

Before the boy can muster up a proper plan however, Mez reels her arm back and with a loud crack from her joints, she thrusts her arm and her entire arm stretches out like a deadly lance. And as her sharp fingernails barely pierce the boy's back, causing the poor boy to let out a blood-filled cough before falling completely limp, his body ragdolling across the ground like roadkill, much to the trained killers' surprise.

"Dead already?", Sten doubtfully questions with a raised eyebrow as they stop to check the boy's condition.

As she walks over to the motionless body sprawled across the ground, Mez reaches down and lightly grasps the back of Lubbock's neck, checking the veins in his neck for the slightest sign of a pulse. But after a moment, she closes her eyes and lets out a long, heavy sigh before standing up and turning to Sten with a shrug.

"This generation must be softer than I originally thought. They're no fun at all...", Sten growls to himself through his disappointment as he averts his gaze from the disgrace in front of him.

With a hidden frown on her face, the girl turns her sights from the crimson liquid staining her fingertips to the dead boy beside her, begrudgingly thinking to herself, " _At least you didn't suffer...if Sten had his way, you'd have-_ ", but before she can finish her thought, a trashcan topples over with a loud crash, earning the demons' attention. As they both look to the source, they see a girl quickly fleeing the scene, sprinting down an off-branching alley like a rat through a maze.

A sinister grin sprawls across the giant's face as he sees the girl fleeing for her life. "Ah, a hunt! You stay here Mez, this could all be a distraction to take that Imperial Arm. I'll deal with this heathen.", Sten growls back at the tan-skinned demon with a gleeful expression on his face as crouches down into a runner's position, readying himself like a professional racer.

"We need that one back alive, Sten! We don't know what she knows, she could lead us to the rest of her spy buddies, or even Night Raid!", Mez quickly reminds the berserker as his body begins to expand with his muscles seeming to beef up in power with ever deep breath he takes in through his large nostrils.

"I know that, just be ready when I come back around...and maybe I'll choose to leave this one in one piece!", the demon growls back at his partner before taking off, propelling himself forward like a missile with a single kick that cracks the ground he was standing on and leaving a thick cloud of dirt and dust in his wake.

With the dust and dirt going everywhere, Mez covers her mouth with her arms as she coughs out, "Damn it, Sten! You don't always have to go 100% when you do these things!" And as the dust cloud finally settles, the blonde finds herself alone with the lifeless corpse she helped create.

* * *

As Run follows Ibara through the thickest woods he's ever seen like a shadow in the night, he mentally asks himself, " _Where are we going..? I know we're supposed to be checking the outskirts of Kyoroch and all, but this feels like we're just heading out in the middle of nowhere... Or maybe that's what they want us to think?_ " As the blonde continues to overthink what's going on, Ibara stops the boy in his tracks, placing an open hand over his chest before placing a finger to his lips to hush him for the moment.

"They're up ahead~", the Demon happily whispers to the boy, causing Run's eyes to widen in disbelief. "I can smell them, three of them. Two unfamiliar guys and...her? Hohoho, this is gonna be fun~", the lavender haired beast gleefully whispers to himself before Run quietly asks, "Who?" Ibara turns back to the boy with a blissful smile before smugly answering, "Akame~"

Run is taken aback by this, thinking, " _Akame!? So Night Raid is here after all!_ " As he suppressed his shock and dawns a more serious expression, he tells the Demon, "We need to retreat and inform General Esdeath of this right away.", to which Ibara bluntly replies, "Not a chance."

"We not only have the element of surprise, but Akame's Murasame won't be able to hit you from the air. Right now she's in a graveyard, so she's got hardly and decent cover from a volley of your feathers. And while you keep her distracted, I'll deal with her associates then when I get the perfect opening, I'll take her down with a single strike.", the frightening Demon suggests, his calm and thorough planning seeming a bit out of character to Run. "Now, if you can, quietly take off and keep a distance from that woman. Even without her ominous blade, she's very dangerous. And this should go without saying, but don't let her cut you, or you're dead.", the Demon continues, ordering Run to make the first move with a side of caution.

The blonde swiftly nods in agreement with the Demon's plan before quietly taking to the skies, swiftly evading every leaf and branch on the way up before getting high enough to see Akame and two spies talking to on another by an old, withered tree. After repositioning himself a few feet above the nearby Chapel, Run reels back his wings before unleashing a relentless volley of feather on Akame and her two comrades.

Akame senses this attack coming however, evading the storm of feathers as she leaps away with remarkable speed even with the weight of the two spies on her shoulders as she carries them along to safety. As the three tumble across the ground, Akame looks back to see the tree and ground littered with pure white, feather-shaped blades. " _Feathers..? Could it be-_ ", the crimson eyed swordswoman begins to think before hearing Run snicker, "So it really is you, Akame of Night Raid."

As the girl turns her sights up to the sky, following the voice up to Run who's flying high above them, she shouts, "Mastema! So you're one of the Jaegers!"

"You're correct, I'm Run of the Jaegers. Now, I'm sorry but I'll be making this a one sided attack.", Run calmly replies to the assassin before unleashing another volley upon the girl, forcing the two spies to retreat to the nearby woods for safety as Akame elegantly leaps away from his barrage of sharp feathers with a series of flips.

As one of the spies watches the battle from behind a tree, the other spy, who's ducking behind a nearby rock, whispers to his buddy, "Hey, we need to get out of here. If we don't, we'll just be dragging Miss Akame down."

The other spy quickly agrees with him, giving his companion a quick nod as he replies with, "Yeah, it sucks but we can't do anything against an Imperial Arm user."

But as the two turn to retreat, they're frozen in fear at the sight of two glowing blue irises in the darkness of the forest. "You two aren't going anywhere~", a demonic voice growls back at them from the darkness before an extremely long, thin finger nail jets out towards them, stabbing one of them through the throat before splitting like a pair of scissors to decapitate them. As the other spy goes to scream in terror, he's quickly silenced by a meaty hand wrapping its fingers around his neck, slowly crushing his windpipe as he desperately gasps for air. "Ah ah ah, I can't have you ruining the surprise now, can I~", Ibara hushes the man as he walks out of the darkness with his arm extended far from his body. As he approaches the suffocating man, he slowly reels him in towards his body before grabbing ahold of the top of the man's head with his other hand. And as the spy's eyes widen in complete terror, Ibara quickly tears the man's head right off of his shoulders, causing blood to spew out from his open neck like a fountain from Hell.

Dropping the limp body at his feet, Ibara chuckles to himself before muttering, "I'm coming for you, Akame~", before starting his quiet trek towards the battlefield with the dead spy's severed head still in hand.

Unleashing another quick wave of feathers toward the infamous killer, she leaps back as she strikes down the dangerous feathers with a few quick swipes of her sword. " _My feathers...I'm too far away for them to have any real power behind them. Then I'll descend only a little, that should do it..._ ", the winged boy contemplates before descending ten feet to close the gap between him and his prey somewhat. Now that he's closer to his target, Run lets loose another barrage of feathers, which Akame seems to have more difficulty evading, only managing to slash away and evade a few of his feathers while receiving a few slashes and lacerations to her thighs and upper arms. As the girl catches her breath, Run begins to think, " _So close! If I get just a tad bit closer, I could-_ ", but quickly stops as he catches his own error. He quickly glances back up to the Chapel and thinks, " _Now that I look at it...I've descended quite a bit just out of instinct. By dodging by a hair's length and allowing me to land less than vital blows on her, she's trying to trick me into thinking I can take her on all on my own if I just keep getting closer, all the while I'm just giving her the chance to reach me with a leap. As expected of a member of Night Raid, she's completely calm and calculating every possible advantage she can take advantage of to win._ " Seeing Ibara's glowing eyes from behind the shadows in the forest, Run gives the girl a light smile before mentally suggesting, " _If she's that focused on landing a hit on me...then perhaps he can land a killing blow?_ "

As the scarlet slasher easily weaves her way between the strengthened feathers, she's nearly blindsided by a rogue feather flying straight for her neck, only barely managing to see the stealthy attack from her enhanced peripheral vision. Unable to completely evade the attack or counter it with a slash of her own, Akame slightly shifts her body, taking the attack full on in her right shoulder, locking her joints in place as the pure white feather is stained with her blood. With blood starting to trickle down her now limp arm, dripping off of her clenched hand as she refuses to drop Murasame, she hears the faint sound of laughter before turning around to see the glowing blue eyes hiding in the darkness. "For a trained killer such as yourself to let someone get the drop on you like that, you've gotten rusty, Akame~", Ibara greets the baffled assassin as he makes his way out of the shadows, severed head still in hand.

Akame only looks on with her eyes widen in complete disbelief as she gasps, "Ibara!? You're in Kyoroch!?" The monstrous demon only lustfully licks at his lips in turn, not feeling like answering her redundant question with as much as a sarcastic remark, to which she mentally notes, " _I thought we'd see the Rakshasa Demons during the Prime Minister's assassination during the final battles...but for Ibara to be here and now, that only means..! Everyone else, they're in serious danger!_ "

* * *

With her eyes burning with an unrivaled determination, Seryuu sprints through the thick woods after Suzuka, who's leaving the young soldier in the dust as she leaps from tree branch to tree branch like a blood-thirsty monkey. " _This place sure is far...we're definitely beyond where any normal person would wander out to from Kyoroch._ ", the soldier quickly surmises in her head as she glances down at the radar mounted on her wrist. As she sees only herself and her demon companion ahead of her on the scanner, the ruthless girl bites down on her lower lip, causing a bit of blood to drip down her lip from the tiny hole she just made in her fury.

Right as she goes to curse to herself however, the furious girl brought to an abrupt stop as the duo breaches the last of the forest, finally reaching their destination as Suzuka gleefully tells Seryuu, "We're here~" Before them stands a large, run-down factory that seems to have up to ten floors with a few windows and a large opening like that from a roof caving in making up the side facing them.

As the Jaeger looks on in surprise, her Imperial Arm releases his locked jaws and plops down on the ground, landing face first into the soft grass as his master swiftly returns her gaze back down to her scanner, which much to her surprise picks up multiple life signatures inside the building, all of which are huddled together. "It looks like you were right, Suzuka. I'm picking up eight evil-doers in that building.", the mechanical-armed girl notes as she shows the demon next to her the blinking dots on her small screen.

"I see...then one of us will have to infiltrate their ranks and get the drop on them.", Suzuka bluntly replies as she turns her gaze back to the decrepit building with a smile twisted in both pleasure and bloodlust.

"An infiltration mission, but I can't-", the confused gunner begins to explain before a strange series of clouds rush out from the demon's sleeves, engulfing her entire body in a thick white smoke. This smoke sends Seryuu into a coughing fit, forcing her to wave the smokescreen away with her free hand as she calls out to the strange demon, asking, "Suzuka, what happened? Are you alright? Where are you?"

"Fufufu~ I'm right here, Seryuu~", the demon calls out from the mist, her voice seeming a bit odd but still retaining her playful tone. And as the mist clears, Seryuu sees that instead of Suzuka standing in front of here, it's the spy that they killed back in town.

Uncertain of what is going on, Seryuu points at the surprisingly lively man, causing Koro to growl, as she furiously questions him, asking, "What are you doing here!? Shouldn't you be dead!?"

With a somewhat childish giggle, Suzuka's voice escapes the spies lips, telling the girl, "Don't worry, Seryuu, I haven't gone anywhere. I'm right here." After the girl and her dog both calm down a bit, retracting their weapons from her way, the demon continues, explaining to the girl, "The Rakshasa Demons all have a unique trait to manipulate our bodies however we see fit, this is all due to our intense training, but that isn't all we have up our sleeves so-to-speak. Each of us four demons have a kind of ace, think of it like one of your 'Trump Cards,' a fairly useful technique that can turn the tides of battle if used properly. This is mine; Transformation. By changing my entire body, I'm able to turn into all sorts of people, and even mimic their speaking patterns if I'm given enough time to observe them. With this I can infiltrate their numbers and if there are any Night Raiders there I will take them out while their backs are turned, then when everything is said and done, you can simply destroy the whole building. Can't have any evidence of our being there be left behind, right? So once I'm done with all of them, I want you to immediately demolish the entire structure with your armaments."

"But Suzuka, if you get caught in that blast, won't you-", the worried Jaeger begins to question, but the demon cuts her off with a gentle finger over her lips to hush her.

"Don't worry yourself over such trivial things, Seryuu. Besides, we demons don't go down that easy. Our bodies have all gone through vigorous training to be able to resist standard blades and armaments like your own. I'll be fine, just be sure that none of them leave that building alive.", the disguised demon calmly replies, easing the girl's worries as she slowly pulls back her finger from her soft, pillow-like lips. With a light smile aimed the young girl's way, the demon lets out one more chuckle before telling the girl, "Now, keep a keen eye on your scanner. You'll know the signal when you see it, and when you do...I want you to let out all that pent up anger and hate on that damned building! Give it your all, Seryuu!"

With their plan finally able to move forward, Suzuka stealthily makes her way into the abandoned building through the broken down front door. She then silently sweeps through each and every floor, searching for any sign of life before moving up to the next floor. Then, as she makes her way through the fifth floor, she finds eight spies huddled together pouring over the information they've gathered, reading one another's notes from their journals as they share their experiences in Kyoroch and their plans for after the war is done and over. Seeing that all her targets are in fact in one place, Suzuka reveals herself, stepping out from the dark shadows into the dazzling moonlight shooting in from the crumbled wall and busted windows. "Hm, it seems that none of them are from Night Raid. How unfortunate...", the demon mentally notes, much to her dismay. As the group of spies look her way, gazing upon her ominous figure in confusion, they barely manage to say a peep before she's engulfed in yet another cloud of smoke, but this time she's reverted back to her normal self.

Seeing this, the spies all back away in horror, recognizing her instantly as one of the spies gasps, "A-A woman!? But, how did she find us!? Are you with the Empire!?"

"You lot weren't exactly hard to find, I just had to find the free time to deal with you all. Now then...if you all would be so kind, why don't you hand over those journals? I'd hate to get your blood all over the pages~", the demon happily warns the spies with a slight smile on her face, but they don't seem too impressed.

As one of the spies' fear turns to pride, he boastfully cries out, "It looks like she's the only enemy here! That means that it's four on one, so if we attack her all at once-", before dashing towards her with his sword ready to cut her down. A second spy dashes in alongside him, brandishing a sword of his own, and as the two cut into the demon's flesh, their blades digging deep into her arms as they slash at her, blood quickly jets out like a busted pipe while she lets out a hushed yet somewhat sexual moan. The spies cheer out in complete glee at the sight of their crimson-stained blades, the first spy noting, "We hit her! This woman's nothing! Let's all finish this in one go!"

All eight quickly rush in to seal the deal, slashing wildly at the woman with their many blades, leaving countless wounds all over her arms, sides and cheeks as she lets out an even louder, lustful moan, but none of their attacks seem to really phase her past that point.

After the blissful feeling of pain subsides, Suzuka growls under her breath, "This isn't bad...however...it's not good enough!", before blocking their pitiful blades with her armored wrists and sending them all flying through the air with a flick of her wrists, sending the spies hurtling through the air like ragdolls. Defenseless and with nowhere to go, these spies are fish in a barrel for Suzuka, who quickly turns around and launches out her nails, extending them like miniature lances that manage to stab each of her targets straight through their necks, piercing them straight through their spines and hanging them in the air! While the spies helplessly dangle in the air with their blood leaking from their fresh wounds, Suzuka quivers as she greedily mutters to herself, "Now, if you'd all be so kind as to hand over those journals, I have a much more interesting pleasure to experience~" With the last spy's body finally falling limp, the demon retracts her deadly nails, allowing the group to fall lifelessly to the ground with a loud series of thuds before rummaging through their cloaks and pants for their journals, which she collects and stores down her pants pockets. With her mission complete and a wide smile comes across her face, Suzuka turns to the opening in the wall and moans, "Here I come, Seryuu~" Without a moment of hesitation, the crazed masochist leaps from the giant hole in the wall before starting to plumet towards the ground with a gleeful expression on her face.

Off in the distance with two large cannons, one loaded on each arm, Seryuu focuses her sights on the building. "Suzuka's really taking her time...maybe I should go in and-", the worried girl begins to think before seeing a figure falling out from the decaying building. "A TARGET!", she quickly exclaims before unleashing the full force of her cannons upon the factory, launching two powerful missiles into the dilapidated wall which explode in a giant ball of fire and ash, and ultimately cause the whole building to come toppling down. "I..think I got them, Koro.", the girl bluntly suggests through her exhaustion as she drops to one knee from the weight from both her heavy arms on her shoulders. " _It did feel good to let off a bit of steam, even if it was on something as simple as an abandoned building..._ ", she mentally notes with a slight smile on her face with the stress that was building up in her heart seeming to subside for the moment. This doesn't last long however as her eyes widen in horror as she shouts out to herself in complete desperation, "Wait, where's Suzuka!?"

"Oh, you mean little old me~?", a familiar voice calls out from the shadows, causing the exacerbated girl to turn to the source with a gleeful smile as she sees Suzuka standing there with a smirk on her face and her pockets filled with books.

"Suzuka! You're okay!", Seryuu cheerfully exclaims as she wraps the woman in a warm embrace, nearly crushing the demon in her tight, robotic grip.

After letting out a slight moan from the tight squeeze, Suzuka quietly replies through her shortened breaths, "It's- good to see you again too, Seryuu."

"But how did you survive that fall, that was at least a five story drop, right?", the confused soldier curiously questions the demon as she releases her from her grasp.

Suzuka only gives her a wink before telling her, "It's wasn't the first time my body's taken that much punishment, and as long as I'm still breathing it won't be the last~" This quickly confuses the soldier even further, almost causing the young girl's mind to spin before Suzuka quickly drops her perversion and tells the girl, "Don't worry about that right now, Seryuu. You're still a growing woman after all, there'll be plenty of time for you to figure out what you're into later in life. All you need to know now is that our mission is complete and we have some interesting information to take back to General Esdeath~" As the demon thinks of the General's icy glare and ferocious aura, her face quickly turns a bright red while thinking to herself, " _That woman, I'm certain that she'd be able to grant me the ultimate pleasure~ All I'd need to do is provoke her, then it'd be a blissful night for me~_ "

"Then we should hurry back to her right away! Come on Koro, let's put these away and get moving! Our Commander is waiting for us!", Seryuu gleefully orders her tiny dog, who quickly leaps into the air before opening his mouth like a gaping tunnel and devouring her entire upper half whole. And when he lets her go, she's stripped of her cannons, now having her normal mechanical arms, as she turns to Suzuka with a smile and says, "Let's go home."

With her face still flushed from her pain-filled thoughts with Esdeath, Suzuka nods in agreement before replying with, "Yeah, wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

* * *

Back in Kyoroch, in a poorly lit alley, Mez is standing with her back against the cold brick wall of the nearby building as she looks off into the sky at the full moon looking back at her. With a heavy sigh escaping her lips, the blonde lowers her gaze to the dirt stained jacket of the boy she just murdered who's sprawled across the ground as she quietly mutters to herself, "Sure is getting late..."

" _Don't 'sure is getting late' me! Go help your friend or something, but more importantly...leave me alone so I can get away! I can't exactly play dead forever..._ ", Lubbock furiously exclaims in his mind as he lays on the ground, remaining completely still as his worry grows. " _So far I've been able to use the wired I hid inside my body to bind my blood vessels and lower my pulse to the point where it's impossible to detect, but I can't keep this facade up all night! Maybe...maybe I should try my luck now? She's only a girl after all, and she seems pretty young at that...who knows, I might just luck out and she'd be weaker than her friend..? No...I had some of my best thread wrapped around my body when she hit me with that attack of hers, and yet she still managed to draw blood... There's no way my wires could protect me from those sort of attacks. Besides, if I end up causing too much noise that woman and her Jaegers would end up getting involved. I might not like it, but this is my only real option right now. I just gotta lay low and wait until this all blows over._ ", the boy methodically plots his escape before finally accepting the facts and sticking with his Playing Possum strategy.

Much to his surprise however, instead of leaving his body behind to rot, the blonde walks over to him, standing silently by his side as he continues to lay motionless on the ground with his pulse slowed to a near stop. " _What is she-_ ", he begins to think in a panic before hearing an exhausted sigh leave the girl's lips swiftly followed by her plopping herself down next to him. As she sits there with her hands clenched in one another's grasp as she gently shuts her eyes while timidly muttering to the lifeless boy beside her, "I'm...I'm sorry."

Though he continues to keep up his lifeless farce, Lubbock is beyond confused, internally screaming, " _ **WHAT!?**_ ", as the girl continues her muttering.

"Honestly, I hate...'this,' the killing... The others always do it so easily, like it's nothing, like their lives are nothing...but these are people, you're a person-! Er, well, I guess you 'were' a person before...well, you know.", the girl awkwardly notes as she motions toward the boy's wound with an open hand. With her sanity starting to pull her mind back into reality, Mez chuckles to herself as she shifts her sights to the glistening stars above as she lightheartedly mocks herself, quietly muttering, "And now you're talking to a corpse, who's the weird one now Mez?"

" _What's she on about now!? Why don't you go home and monologue there!?_ ", Lubbock mentally roars in frustration as he continues his facade, unable to anything but listen to the demon's woes as she continues to ramble on by his side.

With a regretful frown aimed toward the boy, Mez lets out a heavy sigh as she tells him, "You know, if it wasn't for my dad, I wouldn't be doing all this. He's the one who forced me to join this group of psychopaths and go through that stupid training, now look at me, I'm a freak... If it weren't for him, I'd be living a normal life, with a normal job and normal friends, and I wouldn't...I wouldn't have to kill people. And who knows, maybe we would've met under better circumstances? You do look like my type after all, I bet we could've really hit it off..."

" _So she didn't choose to become one of the Rakshasa Demons? I guess they all have their own story to tell..._ ", the motionless boy mentally notes as he continues to listen to the girl's complaints.

Without a second thought, she lays down next to him, resting her bare back against the cold, hard ground, she looks up to the stars with a light smile as she notes, "We could've gone out on dates, went to the theater, gone shopping, and all that nice stuff... Yeah, you seem like the kind of guy I like; quiet, laid back, a bit on the short side, and a great listener.", but as she turns her gaze back onto the boy's 'dead' body, her guilt overwhelms her to the point of forcing her into an upright position. And as she places her knees close to her chest, almost as if she's curling up into a ball from her shame, she timidly apologizes to him yet again, saying, "I'm sorry it couldn't turn out that way for you. But hey, we could meet again in another life, and next time...maybe next time fate will be kinder to both of us."

Not even a minute later, the two hear a frightened scream echoing from down the dark alley. Hearing the strange noise heading their way, Mez leaps up to her feet to see that the source of the scream is a young woman in her early twenties with short, shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a torn white cloak and black mini-skirt. More importantly, she's running straight for Mez with Sten chasing after the girl with a crazed smile on his face. Mez quickly steps out in front of the girl, blocking her path as she turns around to be met by the towering giant that's been chasing her all this time. "Nowhere left to run now~", Sten cheerfully gloats to the terrified girl as she glances every which way for any chance of survival, only to be grabbed by the back of her cloak by the giant's incredibly muscular hands.

As the demon lifts the girl up into the air, her tiny feet dangling and swinging as she tries to break free from his grasp, Lubbock begrudgingly thinks to himself, " _I guess that's one of the members of the spy team... These two seem to be making this place their hunting grounds since it's so secluded. Sorry girly, but you signed up for this kind of risk when you joined the Revolutionary Army. I can't help you._ "

And as the towering man holds the girl up, he glares her right in the eyes as he relentlessly demands, "Now, why don't you tell us what you know about the Revolutionary Army, more importantly...Night Raid?"

"I-I don't know anything! I was just going to see my boyfriend!", the girl squeals for her life, grabbing at the collar of her cloak as the demon tightens his grasp, causing the clothing to start to strangle the life out of her.

"Is that so?", begrudgingly asks the dangling girl before gently lowering her down to the ground with her jacket still trapped in his unbreakable grasp. As the girl gives him a tear-filled nod, the Demon only smiles in turn as he sadistically tells her, "Then you're nothing more than a heathen!", before grabbing her by her throat and lifting her high up into the air with both hands.

As her partner begins to go out of control and the young spy violently flails her legs and claws at his stone-like hands, Mez furiously yells at him, shouting, "Idiot! We both know she's lying! Stop it before you end up killing her!"

Sten only laughs at her demands however, only tightening his grip on the girl's throat as he tells his fellow Demon, "If this brat doesn't have anything to tell us, we'll just have to go elsewhere to find what we need. Once I'm done releasing her soul, we'll rummage through her belongings and see who it was she was planning on meeting tonight, maybe they'll have the information we're looking for? What do you think, you brat~?", shifting his twisted gaze back to the spy as he questions her. Her eyes widen in terror as she hears his plot, causing the man to chuckle to himself as he growls out, "Good, you're scared, you should be. Now...let your soul finally be released from this world!"

Before he can steal away the girl's last breath however, a small silver dagger comes flying straight at him from behind. Sten quickly turns to the side, catching the blade between two of his fingers as he continues to hold the girl in his grasp with his other hand. Much to his and Mez's surprise, they see Lubbock sitting up with a hand over his face as he tries to hide his disdain. "Damn it all...I can't do it after all… I can't just let my ally die right in front of me when I could be doing something to stop it.", Lubbock begrudgingly groans in his head as he hangs his head in shame. "I guess it can't be helped...I'll just have to save her!", the boy mentally exclaims as he tosses his doubt aside, instead facing the two Demons with a courageous grin.

* * *

Seeing through Akame's cool and collected facade, Ibara chuckles at the little girl before him as he tells her, "It's been a while, Akame~ From what I've been told, you've been a pretty bad girl, turning traitor and betraying the Empire. It's about time someone gave you your spanking~" As he finishes mocking his former companion, the demon gleefully toss the still dripping head at her feet, the man's face rolling through the grass and dirt before coming to a stop to look Akame straight in the eye with his fear-stricken eyes.

The ruthless assassin rushes the chuckling demon with all her wrath, exclaiming at the top of her lungs, "I consign you!", dropping her sheath in order to grab her blade with her working hand.

"Come and try it, old pal!", he cheerfully shouts back as his nails jet out like ten long, thin blades, aiming to run the ebony-colored killer through in one go, but she easily evades his attack even with her injury.

As she finally closes the gap, Akame lashes out at the monster with a broad sweep of her sword, aiming to cut him clean in half across his gut, but much to her surprise Ibara's body bends like a rubber band being pulled back, allowing him to dodge her deadly strike with a smug grin on his face. Akame quickly notices the pores on his body seeming to rise up and retreats with a great leap to safety as they shoot out like a thousand tiny quills from the demon's body, turning him into a somewhat human porcupine. As she leaps to what she thinks is safety however, she's met with another fleet of Run's unrelenting feathers, forcing her to slash the blades out of the sky with a quick series of swipes to prevent any further damage to her body. " _This is bad...Dealing with Ibara is bad enough, but with one of the Jaegers here as well..._ ", Akame quickly thinks as she safely returns back to solid ground with her gaze quickly jumping back to Run as he looks down at her with a confident smile.

"You know, Akame...if this were a one-on-one battle, you might have the advantage here...however...it looks like I got some competent support up there. With Run's feathers slowly wearing you down and my ability to completely control my body, you can't hope to hit me with that annoying sword of yours. Now, all we'll need to do is slowly widdle you down until you make your final mistake, then we'll bury you and that ominous blade of yours!", Ibara boldly boasts as he turns to face his opponent with a wild grin. The demon then tilts his head back, and as he ominously looks up at the endless stars in the sky, his entire body begins to convulse with loud cracks and pops coming from his joints. With his head jolting back down to turn his crazed gaze back to the completely shocked assassin, Ibara gleefully shouts out, "You can't handle a full force bombardment from both of us, can you Akame~" Before the crimson-eyed killer can react, Run and Ibara both simultaneously unleash their attacks, Run's being yet another series of sharpened feathers while Ibara jabs at her with extending arms that stretch out before snapping back into his body like spring loaded pistons. With each hit they land, they slash and gash the infamous killer, tearing at her signature attire and leaving large cuts across her body, but nothing too vital.

With her quick thinking and nearly unrivaled skill, Akame finds a small opening, thinking, " _That's four shots, so if Minazuki's notes are anything to go by...then Mastema's hit its shot limit._ ", as Minazuki's voice rings through her mind, telling her, " _Mastema is mainly a support type Imperial Arm, but it isn't completely helpless in a fight. It can unleash a volley of feathers in a given area that are as sharp as any other blade, but these feathers come at a cost. You see, they're the same feathers that they'd be using to keep themselves suspended in the air, so if he uses four- no, five volleys, then he'd be out of feathers and be completely unable to fly for some time._ " With this new glimpse of hope, Akame quickly thinks, " _With that, Ibara doesn't have any air support!_ "

As the demon continues to unleash his powerful stabs at the girl, he gleefully cries out, "HOW'S THIS FOR YA, AKAME!?", to which she swipes one more time at the demon, this time aiming for his incoming attack to cut his fingers and land her curse, but Ibara already has a counter for her attack. Seeing the strike coming, Ibara catches the ominous blade between his two enlarged hand, safely halting her attack as he scolds her, shouting, "I told you, you can't hit me with that damned accursed sword, didn't I, AKAME!?" With one swift movement, he tears the blade from Akame's grasp, sending Murasame spinning through the air as he pridefully boasts, "Aaaaand now your Imperial Arm is all mine! Now what will you do Akame!?" When he catches the blade in his open hand however, Murasame begins to glow with a deadly aura, frightening the demon as he notices it with a completely baffled glare. "Wh-what's with this blade!?", Ibara shouts as his arm freezes in place, unable to follow his command.

" _It's rejecting him! We have to act quick...but I'm out of shots... Did she somehow plan this? Does Night Raid have information on my Imperial Arm and its weaknesses..?_ ", Run quickly thinks to himself before shouting to his comrade at the top of his lungs, "Drop the sword, Ibara! It's rejecting you!"

" _That's what I'm counting on!_ ", Akame mentally exclaims as she leaps toward the frozen demon, landing atop his shoulders with her bare thighs pressed against his skull. He has barely any time to glance back up at the assassin in terror before she quickly uses the weight of her own body to twist both herself and Ibara's head, turning his head completely around.

"You-you planned for this!? For me to disarm you!?", Ibara exclaim through the pain from his broken neck.

As she retrieves Murasame and rests its blunt end on her shoulder, Akame turns to Ibara before bluntly telling him, "You called Murasame 'ominous' after all, so I highly doubted it would take a liking to you."

Furious from what he'd just heard, Ibara's eyes fill with complete rage as he turns his body around to fight the assassin without his sight, shouting, "HOW DARE YOU PLAY ME LIKE THAT!? I'LL KILL YOU!"

Akame, however, only meets this warning with a quick dash and a series of powerful slashes that tear into Ibara, slicing the demon across his bare chest and severing his body from his arms and legs. "The cursed blade didn't take a liking to you, Ibara. You should consider yourself lucky, we both know what happened to the last wielder of this blade.", Akame quietly replies to the demon as his body falls apart behind her, his blood staining the ground a crimson red as his many pieces slam into the ground.

"Heh...you sure are..a dangerous woman...Akame~ I...might just...fall for you...heh...", the dying demon mutters his last words as his gaze falls upon the crimson killer's silhouette against the bright full moon. With this dangerous woman's figure beginning to blur, Ibara lets out one last breath before going limp, his head falling to the ground with a quiet thud as Akame lets out a light sigh.

The girl then turns her sights back to the sky for her other opponent, but much to her confusion finds them empty. " _Did he use the time between me snapping Ibara's neck and cutting him to pieces to escape...? Run, he's truly a calm man._ ", Akame mentally notes as she finds her sheath on the ground amongst the rubble of broken tombstones, abandoned feathers and chunks of dirt. As she goes to pick it up however, the sharp pain in her shoulder causes her to fall to her knees, dropping Murasame on the ground in the process as she grasps at the feather lodged in her shoulder. "The Rakshasa Demons, who would've thought they'd be here of all places... I need to get back to the base. The Boss will want to hear about this for sure.", Akame calmly notes in her mind as she returns Murasame to its sheath. With her mission ultimately a failure but with new information to bring to her leader, Akame goes to take her leave but quickly stops as a sharp pain radiates from her left leg, forcing the master swordswoman to use her trusty blade as a stick to hold her body up. With a tired glance, she quickly sees the problem, a deep stab wound on her hip that's lazily dripping with blood. "It looks like Ibara got a few good hits on me after all... He was right, I'm getting rusty.", the cool killer begrudgingly notes as she uses her free hand to cover the wound, slowing the blood loss a bit with her cold grasp. " _I guess chasing after him is out of the question then. I'm in no state to fight, especially if he's still able to fl-_ ", Akame begins to think before she's swiftly interrupted by a loud crash that echoes out from deep within the woods toward the near lifeless graveyard. With her razor sharp gaze narrowing as she turns toward the direction the sound came from, she ponders, " _After five shots he'd be completely unable to fly, but does that mean that after shooting four times..._ "

Off in the forest, resting with one arm propped against a tall, sturdy tree, Run is gasping for air as he clenches his heart, only barely managing to subside his desperate need for air as he thinks, " _I really overdid it this time... To think she'd take out one of the Rakshasa Demons so swiftly, no wonder Kurome seems to have such an interest in her. I need to escape..I need to get back to the Commander and tell her about this!_ " After taking a few steps, his Imperial Arm's feathers quickly retract back into the two golden discs floating over his shoulder blades before falling to the ground with a loud thud. The boy turns his gaze back to the gleaming discs as he quietly growls to himself, "I don't even have enough energy to maintain Mastema anymore... Damn Night Raider...If I had enough energy left, I could've easily launched myself far enough from the graveyard and simply gliding my way back to the base." As he goes to continue on his path however, he hears what sounds like a twig break off in the distance behind him, followed by one of the nearby trees' branches seeming to make a boeing noise. " _It can't be-! She couldn't have-!_ ", the frightened boy mentally exclaims in disbelief as he turns around to see two ominous eyes watching him from high up in the trees. " _Those eyes...they're-_ ", he begins to thinks before quickly turns back to his path. " _I won't die here! I refuse!_ ", the blonde furiously proclaims in his head before forcing his body to keep moving to safety.


	25. Kill the Demons

Standing alone against the giant Rakshasa Demon Sten and the weak-hearted Mez, Lubbock unleashes his razor sharp wires as he courageously shouts out, "So you two are hunting Night Raid, well then you've got us! But be careful what you wish for, 'cause I'm more than a handful! NOW COME AT ME!"

As the glistening wires slash their way through the cool night air, the two demons leap out of the way of his as the blonde girl growls, "'Come at me,' yeah right! You're the one on the offensive with those wires flying all over the damn place!", as she glares daggers at the shorter wire master. As she continues to evade the wires, leaping from side to side as she spots the moonlight shimmering along the thin razor sharp strands, Mez mentally cries out, " _How did he survive that attack, are those wires of his an Imperial Arm!? More importantly, why didn't he just run away..? He could've just let that girl die and we wouldn't have to kill him... What an idiot!_ "

"So you think that this'll stop me, HA! These wires won't keep me from releasing your soul, boy!", Sten roars out in a maniacal rage as he charges past Lubbock's attack like an unrelenting bull charging its way towards a brain-dead clown, aiming straight for the boy with his fist drawn back. "NOW TAKE THIS, KOUKEN TEMPLE HUNDRED BLAZING FISTS!", the giant erupts in a gleeful rage as he unleashes a hellish wave of a hundred punches at Lubbock.

The young boy only grits his teeth at the ferocious warrior's battle cry before weaving his threads into a web-like wall that easily absorbs the impact of the brute's dynamic punches as he shouts out, "Like I'd go out so easily, OLD MAN!"

Much to the demons' surprise, the threads completely negate Sten's powerful punches, causing the beast to retreat with a slight smile on his grizzly face. "For threads such as that to withstand my onslaught, that weapon is most definitely an Imperial Arm. And based on your reaction time, you're definitely who you claim to be, Night Raid... I'm gonna enjoy busting open your skull~", Sten cheerfully notes as he cracks his knuckles with a wide, toothy smile.

"You guys seem pretty tough, but none of you are a match for my TRUMP CARD!", Lubbock pridefully boasts as he uses his nimble fingers to weave his threads, spinning and twisting them mid-air into a giant battle axe. As the boy begins to twirl the newly woven axe over his head like a propeller, creating a powerful updraft that begins to suck his two opponents towards him, he calls out the attack's name, shouting, "Rising Centrifugal Force!"

With the heavy blade swinging right past their faces as the demons try to formulate some form of assault against this new opponent. Suddenly, Mez sees an opening between the swings of his blade and takes her shot, jetting out her finger like a lance to strike him straight through the heart as she grits her teeth in frustration as she thinks to herself, " _Such a flashy attack, it's just riddled with openings... Please just die quickly!_ " Much to her surprise however, the boy blocks her attack with his forearm, causing her attack to bounce right off like it were nothing as it tears a hole in his sleeve. As she reels her finger back in disbelief at what just happened, she catches a glimpse of what saved him; a thick amount of wires wrapped up the length of his now exposed arm. " _He-he wrapped the wires around his body like armor..? What idiot would've thought to do that!?_ ", she mentally gasps.

"If you liked this trick, you're gonna love my next one!", Lubbock fearlessly warns them before leaping him up into the air, the powerful air current aiding him with his ascent as he lifts the deadly axe high above his head, nearly blinding the two demons as they're struck by the moon's rays as they reflect down off of the shining wires.

Mez is left in a daze by this sudden light, but Sten swiftly reacts in time to expand his muscles to an outrageous size as he gleefully shouts out, "YES, ALLOW ME TO RELEASE YOUR SOUL!"

"You should be careful what you ask for, Old Man! High Wire Impact!", the assassin furiously retorts as he goes to drop the axe down like a heavy guillotine. But as he goes to cut Sten clean in half, the warrior catches the axe's blade with his bare hands, stopping him dead in his tracks only a few inches from his head, causing Lubbock to gasp out, "W-what!?"

"Don't make me laugh, this is your Trump Card..? I've seen greener Imperial Arm users with better Trump Cards than this!", Sten growls in disappointment as Lubbock leaps back from the two deadly Demons.

Lubbock only chuckles at the Demon's dismay, looking back at the duo with a wicked grin before pointing at them and retorting with, "...Is that so? Too bad, because my Trump Card worked just as planned. Just take a look behind you...!"

Unsure of what he means, the two glance back to see the Rebel spy has disappeared, leaving nothing behind to hint to her true name or where she might have gone. "S-she got away!? He was being flashy to keep us from turning around as she ran away!", Mez gasps in complete shock as she and Sten look to each other in surprise.

"AND NOW IT'S MY TURN! SO LONG, SUCKERS!", Lubbock mocks at the top of his lungs as he rushes away for his life, leaving a giant dust cloud trailing behind him as he makes his getaway.

The giant lets out an irritated groan at this as he rubs the bridge of his nose and growls, "So he's got nothing but underhanded tricks, how disappointing..." He then turns his burning gaze towards the fleeing Night Raider, and as his rage finally begins to boil over, Sten crouches down like a panther preparing to strike down its prey as he grumbles to himself, "You think you can escape your fate...?" He then pounces with all his might, creating almost a tornado as he chases after the boy as he shouts out in a rage, "YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME! I'LL RELEASE YOUR TINY SOUL FROM THAT DAMNED BODY OF YOURS!"

Surprisingly enough, Lubbock looks back at him with a confident smile as he asks the rampaging beast, "Is it really alright for you to do that? Charging at me like that I mean."

This leaves Sten a bit confused before he sees it, a barely noticeable glimmer ahead of him in the poorly lit alley. He tries his best to slow himself down, dragging his bare feet along the stony ground but it's not enough. Knowing this however, Sten tries his best to cut through the thread, stiffening the tip of his beard into a powerful spear to slash his way through to the boy, but the thread easily cuts through his hardened hairs before digging its way into his throat, nearly cutting open his windpipe and causing blood to ooze out.

As the demon lets out a pain-filled howl, Lubbock shouts out, "Now you're finished!", as he forms a new spear from his threads before launching the weapon with all his might! Unable to react in time while holding his hand over his bleeding neck, Sten takes the spear straight into the center of his chest with enough force to send him skidding back a few feet before he can stop himself.

"I'm finished, huh? You're too soft, Brat. This trained body of mine won't go down so easily, especially against wounds so shallow.", Sten notes with a scornful glare aimed at the boy, which Lubbock meets with a smug grin.

"None of that matters now, as soon as Crosstail enters your body...", Lubbock begins to tell his opponent as he holds his open hand out to the demon, his wires slowly wrapping themselves around the man's heart with every minor movement of his fingers. "You're as good as dead.", Lubbock finishes before closing his open hand, tightening his wires around Sten's heart before dicing it to pieces.

With his heart left in pieces, Sten lets out his last breath before falling back in defeat, his body crashing to the ground with a loud thud as Lubbock turns his attention to Mez, he thinks to himself, " _One down, one to go._ "

* * *

Walking in the dead silence of the night air, Seryuu and Suzuka are making their way through the front garden toward the holy mansion.

"So you've returned, I hope that you found something of some use.", a cold voice calls out from the darkness as General Esdeath steps out from behind a pillar near the main entrance. As she turns to the two with her arms firmly crossed, the General turns her sights onto them, causing the two to freeze in place as they look up at her in surprise.

"Yes, we've returned from our mission, and we have something that you might want to see, General.", Seryuu quickly replies to Esdeath as she holds her hand out to Suzuka. As soon as the Demon hands her the notes they collected, the girl rushes to her higher-up's side, showing her the papers as she says, "On our patrol we encountered a Revolutionary Spy and after dealing with them we discovered the location of one of their rendezvous points. We traveled there and after eliminating all the spies we could find, we collected all the information they gathered and destroyed their base. This is everything they knew right here, Ma'am."

As the courageous girl hands Esdeath the notes, the General unenthusiastically flips through the pages, seeming to only skim through each page bit by bit before suddenly stopping. "So they discovered the secret passageway leading to the graveyard. It would seem that the Revolution has eyes and ears everywhere you turn. They have a fair amount of spies at their disposal, so I doubt even you managed to eliminate every last one of them in this place, so we can't risk assuming that this information hasn't already touched Night Raid's hands... Very well, I'll personally see to it that those tunnels are collapsed by the end of the night. You two did outstanding tonight, I thank you both for this information, now go get some rest, you've earned it."

Hearing the General's praise leaves Seryuu with a wide smile as she turns back to Suzuka, and as she motions for the Demon to come with her, she calls out, "Come on Suzuka, you heard the General. We'll need as much sleep as we can get if we're going to find the rest of those treacherous spies!" But as the two try to go back inside, Esdeath stops the young girl with a light grab of her shoulder.

"Seryuu...", the General says as the girl turns to see a gentle smile across the woman's face, "I'm glad you finally let off that pent up frustration. And hopefully you'll be able to keep up this healthier aura for the rest of our time here."

The cheerful girl gleefully nods in response before the General releases her to do as she pleases. The girl quickly enters the building, heading straight for the living quarters setup for the Jaegers, but much to her surprise, when she barges through the doors and calls out, "Everyone! Seryuu Ubiquitous has returned!", nobody answers her. As she walks into the nearly house-sized room, she searches for any sign of the others to no avail, causing her to look to Koro in confusion as she quietly mutters to herself, "Well, I guess Wave and Kurome would be guarding that weirdo, but where's Run?"

Before she can go find out, she hears Suzuka answer her question, saying, "It would appear we're the first group to return." Seryuu swiftly turns around to see the Demon standing in the doorway, her sharp gaze seemingly looking straight through the girl.

"So not even the other Demons are back yet?", Seryuu worriedly questions the woman, to which she replies with a regretful shake of the head.

"I didn't expect Ibara to be back anytime soon, considering the fact that he'd like to take his time with killing whoever he got his hands on, the same could be said for Sten as well, but Mez is different. She doesn't really like letting people suffer like those two. She'd have finished the job quickly then returned to keep an eye on that old pervert on the throne.", Suzuka explains to the girl with a hint of confusion in her voice as she places a hand on her chin.

Seryuu suddenly falls into a panic, rushing up to the masochist as she frantically asks, "Do you think they might be in danger!?", but she only answers with a shake of the head.

Refusing to accept the possibility of her fellow Demons having any trouble, Suzuka scoffs at the idea before answering, "I won't pretend to know what your companions have been through during the time you all have been together, but it'd take a whole lot more than some spies and some novice assassins with Imperial Arms to take us Rakshasa Demons down, and we watch over our comrades. They'll all be back here shortly, don't you worry."

The girl forces a smile onto her face, trying her best to not seem too worried as she nods in agreement and says, "You're right, I shouldn't worry so much. General Esdeath wouldn't want me to stress myself too much over this either... Thank you, Suzuka. I think I'm gonna get a shower and lay down for a while until everyone gets back."

The Demon waves goodbye to the exhausted looking girl before shutting the door and returning to her duties, leaving Seryuu alone with Koro and her own worries. And as the girl heads towards the bathroom to take her shower, she looks outside through a nearby window to see the bright, glowing full moon lighting the night's sky as she thinks to herself, " _Run...please...just make it back here safely. I can't lose anyone else, not another friend...don't leave me too..._ "

* * *

With Sten's limp corpse sprawled across the ground with blood slowly escaping the small hole left by Crosstail's attack, the wire master sets his sights on his next target, the Rakshasa Demon Mez.

"And then there were two. So...you gonna just stand there, or ya actually gonna come at me like your dumb friend here?", Lubbock questions the blonde girl as she stands there silent with her head hanging low as her sights intently focus on the ground.

"Why...", she mutters in a hushed tone while she removes her horseshoes holding up her hair, earning a raised eyebrow from the wire weaver before she looks up to him with a rage-filled scowl as she shouts, " **WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST RUN!?** "

On reaction, Lubbock throws up a barrier of wires through the alley to catch her if she approaches, but instead Mez shoots out a strange, ooze from her body that coats the wires around him. As the boy looks to his wires, seeing them coated in the odd clear slime, he thinks, "What's this liquid, whatever it is it's weighing down my threads, they're completely useless now..."

Before he can counteract her ooze, she rushes in between his defeated defenses, darting all over the place with an unbelievable speed before stopping right in front of the boy and striking him with a powerful punch straight to the center of his stomach, sending him skidding across the ground along his back before crashing into a set of trashcans at the end of the alley.

As he lays there, coughing up a bit of blood as he thinks to himself, " _W...what the hell. This girl's power is ridiculous...! If I take one more of those, I'll die!_ "

The boy looks down the alley, hearing his soon-to-be killer making her way through the darkness as she rants on to him, almost scorning him as she growls, "You could've easily ran away, gotten somewhere safe while Sten killed that girl. So why, why did you have to do this? Why did you have to go and be the damned hero!? Why...why did you force me to kill you!?"

As a last ditch effort with nothing left to lose, Lubbock pulls a hail-merry and tosses two throwing knives at the girl with all his remaining strength as he shouts out, "Take this!" This however isn't all that impressive to Mez as she deflects the two daggers with the back of her hand, sending them flying into the soft, wooden wall of a nearby door.

"Still...still you fight back...? Just die already! I don't want you to suffer anymore!", the girl cries out, her voice shaking as she begins to tear up.

" _Is she...crying...?_ ", Lubbock thinks in complete confusion as the girl reluctantly grabs him by the scruff of his shirt and lifts him up with a single hand. The sweaty blond quickly pulls her hand back, ready to end the boy's life with one strike, before stopping as Lubbock lets out a light chuckle and notes, "You know, if we weren't enemies then I'd totally try to seduce you. You're actually pretty cute..."

This earns the boy a light chuckle from the disheartened girl along with a faint chuckle before she cheerfully replies, "You know, I wouldn't mind that. You look like my type of guy too, but you wouldn't want a freak like me as a girlfriend."

Lubbock just chuckles at this before reluctantly admitting, "You know, I was in a situation like yours once. Being used by the Empire, like a weapon for their own devices. You don't have to do this."

"' _I don't have to do this_ ,' yeah right. I belong to the Empire now, I'm just a tool for them. Even if I ran away, I'd be a traitor too. I'd be hunted down and killed by the assassination squad.", Mez depressingly replies as her grip tightens on his shirt.

"Then why don't you join the R-", Lubbock begins to suggest before she cuts him off, furiously shouting, "And just become a weapon for someone else!? Trust me, I've thought about ditching these guys for years and joining up with the Revolution, but I'd just be putting myself in the same situation. I'd just be a weapon they use until the war's over, then they'd throw under the carriage and have me executed.", Mez continues to explain, her grip slowly weakening as she goes on with her thoughts of the Revolution.

"Even if you don't join us, you're your own person. You don't belong to the Empire, you choose your own fate. And now, now you have to make a choice. You could either do what the Empire wants and kill me, or you could join us and the Revolution. Whatever you do, just remember, it's YOUR decision, not the Empire's.", Lubbock passionately tries to persuade the girl, but his speech seems to fall on deaf ears as she barely bats an eye at it.

There's a moment of silence between the two with the wind gently blowing against Mez's back. "Well, I guess this is it then. If we see each other in the next life, maybe we can go on a date? Maybe...ice cream?", Mez suggests as she pulls back her fist, her entire hand glowing with a dark energy.

"That sounds good to me. I'd probably get rocky road. You'd get what, chocolate?", Lubbock replies with a slight smile, earning an equally light smile from the girl.

After letting out a slight giggle, she nods before adding, "We could go for a walk on a beach, I've never been to the beach."

"That sounds nice...", Lubbock quietly notes as he gently closes his eyes, seeming to accept his fate.

"Well, I'll see you there, okay..?", Mez reluctantly continues as the aura around her fist glows even brighter with an ominous silver. She then throws a dynamic punch straight at Lubbock's face, and after feeling a powerful jet of air blow past his face he opens his eyes to see her knuckles less than an inch from his face. She then gives him a light tap to the forehead with her knuckles before sarcastically gasping out, "Oh no, it looks like you survived my most powerful attack. I guess you live to fight another day, Night Raid."

"W-what are you-", Lubbock begins to question what's going on before Mez sternly tells him, "I'm making my decision. I'm not gonna follow the Empire anymore, but I'm not gonna just mindlessly join the Revolution either. You said I'm my own person, right? Then if I don't want to join either parties, then I'll join my own party with my own rules."

After saying this, the girl drops the boy like a sack of potatoes and rummages through her pockets before pulling out a loose piece of paper and a pencil. She then draws something on said paper and as she hands it down to the boy, he sees it's some sort of map. "A-A map, but of what?", he gasps in a panic before the girl points down at it.

"It's of the mansion. The one with your 'target' in it, remember? To think that you're an actual assassin with such an airhead.", Mez pokes fun at the boy as she starts to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going!?", Lubbock shouts out as he scurries to his feet in a panic.

She turns back to him with a bright smile as she answers him as she happily replies, "Didn't I tell you, I'm doing my own thing now. Besides, I think I've taken a liking to you. How about one of these days...we go get that ice cream?"

And as his cheeks start to turn a rosy red, Lubbock barely manages to reply with a nervous nod, which earns him a chuckle from the Demon before saying, "Then it's a date~", as she takes her leave.

" _D-Did I just get a girlfriend...? I TOTALLY GOT A GIRLFRIEND!_ ", the pervert mentally exclaims with joy before falling to the ground, groaning, "Oh yeah, wounds...forgot...", to himself as he holds his aching stomach.

* * *

Making his way through the darkness along the poorly lit path along the forest floor, Run desperately limps his way back to his team. As the tired blonde gently rests his back against the rough, rigid bark of a nearby tree, he takes a moment to catch his breath with a few quick gasps before rushing himself back on the move, only taking a second to glance back into the ominous shadows lurking behind him. As he stares into the unending darkness of the night, he sees a pair of crimson eyes staring back at him from up in the trees. This sends a frightful chill down the young man's spine and causes him to shoot back onto his path, rushing into a run with all the energy he has left to escape the assassin.

" _She's still after me!? I must have already ran over a mile from that graveyard, and she's still up there in the trees! I have to keep moving! If I can just make it back, I'm sure the General will be able to deal with her!_ ", Run tries his best to calmly think out with death ominously looming within the dark of night. As he recklessly makes his way through the forest, leaping over downed logs and ducking under low hanging branches as the sound of shaking branches follows close behind him, he sees what looks like a person in the distance rushing towards him.

" _W-who-_ ", he begins to think before hearing a familiar voice cheerfully call out to him at the top of their lungs, "RUN!" As the figure comes closer into view, he sees it's Seryuu, who's dressed in nothing but a nightgown with Koro clinging to her shoulder with his tiny paws. With his comrade distracting him from his path, Run trips over a arisen root and falls flat on his face. "Seryuu, the trees, they're in the trees!", Run exclaims in a panic as he looks up to her with his eyes flooding with terror, causing the girl's eyes to widen in disbelief as she looks up at the treeline.

As Seryuu processes this information however, her baffled expression melts into a furious scowl. "NIGHT RAID!", the rage-filled girl shouts at the top of her lungs before pointing her weaponized arms up towards the higher branches of the trees and opening fire with an onslaught of bullets. The girl unloads bullet after bullet into the forest, shredding through the trees and turning the nearby forest into Swiss cheese, before finally coming to a stop when they see a body fall out from the trees and crash into the ground. With a quick snap of her fingers, Seryuu points at the figure and shouts to her partner, "Koro, don't let them get away! And make sure you bring them back in one piece!"

After bulking up and turning into his much larger form, Koro rushes to catch his new prey while Seryuu checks on the downed Run. As she kneels down to the boy, she quickly questions him as she nervously asks, "Are you alright!? Are you hurt!?"

The boy shakes his head no much to her relief as he says, "Nothing major, luckily enough, but I overdid it this time. I overloaded Mastema and couldn't use it against Akame after our her fight with Ibara."

"So you're not hurt! That's good! But...where's Ibara?", the worried soldier continues as she helps Run to his feet.

"He died fighting Akame, she cut him down at the graveyard, but I managed to get away, or so I thought.", he begrudgingly replies before they both turn their sights to Koro as the Imperial Arm investigates the body.

This seems to only tick the girl off, causing her to grit her teeth before shouting out, "KORO, STOP MESSING AROUND AND BRING THEM HERE!"

Much to their surprise however, when the dog does as she asks, they see it isn't Akame, in fact it isn't even a person! "Is that...a monkey?", Seryuu questions as she tilts her head in confusion as she looks the body up and down.

"They're actually baboons.", a gentle voice corrects them, and as they turn to see who it is, they see Mez as she walks out from the forest. "I see that you two made it back, good...that's good.", the tan blonde cheerfully notes with a slightly forced smile as she walks up to the group.

"That's impossible, I saw her eyes, her bright red eyes! I know I did...however...", Run begins to refute, but stops himself as he looks down at the bullet-ridden body.

Mez lets out a light scoff at this before pulling back the baboon's eyelid to show the beast's bloodshot eyes, pointing at them as she notes, "There's been a bit of a disease going around the baboons in this area recently. They've all been going into a blood-thirsty rage and killing anything they see. I'm gonna guess they didn't attack you head-on because of your Imperial Arm. I guess you lucked out."

"Well, let's report back to the General. She'll want to hear about what you've both found out... Hey, where's Sten?", Seryuu suggests with a slight smile before questioning Mez with a confused glance.

The Demon averts her eyes from the two, and as she begins to make her way back to the mansion, she stoically replies, "He's dead."

"I-I'm sorry. Let's...let's just get back inside.", Seryuu nervously suggests as she helps the exhausted Run by throwing his left arm over her shoulder.

"Seryuu...you don't have to do that. I can move on my own just fi-", he begins to argue but stops as she hits him with a stiff elbow to his lower ribs.

"Are you sure about that? You're already beaten up enough as is, don't make me knock you out to make it easier to help you.", she sarcastically asks the boy before continuing to help him on his way.

As the three make their way up the stairway, they're greeted by General Esdeath as she rushes down to check on Run. "Are you alright!? Are you wounded!?", Esdeath swiftly asks, her stern voice contradicting her motherly reaction as she helps Run get up the stair along with Seryuu.

"Nothing serious, Ma'am. We ran into Night Raid, but I made my way through it. Ibara wasn't so lucky though, Akame killed him.", Run answers the General, his exhausted voice slowly weakening as they continue on inside.

"So it would seem, and what of you, Mez? What happened to Sten?", Esdeath asks the blonde girl with a stern glance aimed her way.

"He ran off after a Revolutionary Spy and got himself killed. It happened so fast that I didn't see them and they didn't leave any clues as to who they were or where they went. If I had to guess-", she begins to reply before Esdeath cuts her off with a furious, "Night Raid."

The General turns her gaze over to Seryuu and she sternly orders, "We'll be increasing our search efforts in the morning alongside the guards. If Night Raid is in this city, we'll be sure to crush them with all our might." And as the group heads through the front doors of the mansion, Esdeath furiously thinks to herself, " _Najenda, so you're here after all. You won't beat me this time, and I'll be sure to completely obliterate you and all of the Revolutionary Army!_ "

Off in the distance, watching them from the shadows of the forest however is Akame who's peeking out from behind one of the few unharmed trees that witnessed Seryuu's wrath with a stern expression as she sees the two groups working together.


	26. Back In Action

With dawn starting to break on this cloudy day, Minazuki is alone in his room, staring at his own reflection in the mirror as he leans forward on the nearby wooden dresser, propping himself up with his forearms as he lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. He takes a moment to look down at his body, seeing the remnants of his last battle, seeing the scars left behind from his and Quake's fusion. "It's been a while, but I'm finally back and ready to go, and nothing's gonna stop me-", the boy confidently declares as he begins to put on his shirt before a sharp pain down his spine, causing him to reel back in pain before falling onto his bed with his light hazel-colored shirt stuck over his head.

"Good job, partner.", a playful voice chuckles at his dismay as he tries his best to return to his footing. The origin of the voice turns out to be Leone, who's watching the boy from the open doorway with a slight smirk on her face, and as the boy struggles to even get the shirt off in his current state, the grinning blonde makes her way over to his side as she tells him, "I know it's been a few weeks since your last mission, but you don't need to go rushing things. If you just throw yourself back out there without making sure your body is able to work at its best you'll just be putting yourself in danger."

The boy lets out a defeated groan as he lays motionless on the bed before replying with, "I know that, it's just...it's just that everyone's out there trying their hardest to prepare for the assassination and I've just been sitting here on my butt. With Esdeath doubling down on her rounds and quadrupling the number of guards around this place we're walking on eggshells as is, not to mention how we lost almost all of our spies from their constant search parties. I can't afford to sit on the sidelines any longer, I have to do something."

The lioness gently tugs down on his shirt with both her hands, one on each of his sides, as she helps him finish dressing himself. "There's no stopping you, is there? Well, come on, the boss is waiting on ya.", she begrudgingly replies with a slight frown forming on her face as she turns back to head out the door.

Before she can leave however, Minazuki grabs her by her wrist, causing her to turn back with a slightly surprised gaze as he tells her, "I know you've been worried about me a lot lately, and I'm glad that you've been keeping a close eye on me. I'll try my best to not overdo it, and until the boss clears me for missions and recon, I'll stay in the house and keep things easy, alright?"

This seems to ease the woman's worries as her frown warms into a radiant smile before she says, "I guess we'll just have to check in with the boss then. She should be in the meeting room, so lets not keep her waiting." Before he can even react in his aching state, she pulls the boy out into the hallway and down the hall until they find Najenda, who's dressed in only a casual-looking pair of blue jeans and a black tanktop, sitting in a large room with a long table, reading a book as she patiently waits for them with her left leg crossed over her right. "Hey Boss~ Minazuki wanted to talk to ya~"

"I see... so you're finally up and about, took you long enough.", the Boss sternly comments as she shuts her book and gently lays it on the table beside her. As she looks the boy up and down with a cold glance, Najenda swiftly analyzes the boy's condition before noting, "From the looks of you, you'd appear fully recovered. However...", and before she finishes her sentence, she throws a quick jab at him with her metal fist, which he manages to react to just fast enough to sidestep the attack. "You've gotten slower.", the General sternly remarks as she presses the barrel of her gun to the side of his skull, having drawn it from her hip when she went for her punch.

" _When did she-_ ", the boy begins to think before the Boss returns her gun to her hip with a light sigh, like that of a disappointed mother.

"You might be healed, but you've been out of the fight for so long that you've gotten rusty. I suggest you go downstairs and focus your efforts on regaining that razor edge of yours, we have a training room down there with enough equipment to get anyone back into shape. But first...Leone, go get his Imperial Arm. He'll need it for when he's training.", the Boss continues before sending the blonde off to fetch the gauntlets. With Leone off retrieving the hidden armaments, the General relaxes back into her chair as she casually tells the boy, "You've been out of the picture for a little under a month now, so it's only natural that you're rusty, but right now we can't afford to send you out there at less than your best. As you probably already know, Esdeath has more than doubled her efforts in eradicating any traces of the Revolution here and nearly eliminated every informant we had in this town. According to what responses I could get from the Revolutionary army, they won't be able to replenish the amount of spies we lost to her raids in time for our mission, so we're mostly on our own as far as information gathering goes. Right now we're able to use what little resources we have left to gather information around town using Lubbock and Chelsea along with a surprising informant. But that's a story for another time, right now you should be focusing on returning to full strength and preparing for the upcoming assassination. If you've fully recovered by then, you'll be part of the main assault team, but even if you don't reach that point, you'll be able to assist with the escape plan when we all try to make our grand exit. Knowing you though, you'll get ready just in time to get into the fight."

As she finally returns from her hunt, Leone cockily holds up the scaly gauntlets, presenting them for all in the room to see as she leaps into view as she cheerfully calls out, "Here they are~"

The blonde places the gauntlets in the young man's hands with a sly smile, earning a worried look from Minazuki as he asks, "What did you do?"

"What ever could you be hinting at, partner?", Leone playfully questions as she defensively raises her hands, not claiming any fault while also choosing not to defend herself.

Certain that her Cheshire Cat smile is hiding something wicked, Minazuki inspects the gauntlets. As he looks them up and down, side to side, he finds a few cracks through the scales coating them along with a large crack in the main gem, but the final thing he notices causes him to furrow his brow. "Why do they smell like perfume?", he cautiously asks as he turns his sights back to the grinning lioness, seeming awfully full of herself as he figures out what she'd be smiling about.

"Oh that smell? That's probably from the drawer I kept them tucked away in.", Leone cheekily replies as she covers up her snickering with a hand over her mouth like a smug school girl.

"We were worried that you might try to overexert yourself and try to return to your usual day-to-day if you could access your Imperial Arm, so we hid it away in the last place you'd look.", Najenda confidently explains their strategy with a stern, yet somewhat pleased, expression on her face.

"So we hid it in my underwear drawer, pretty smart, right?", Leone cheerfully proclaims with a wide toothy smile.

With his eyes widened in complete disbelief, the baffled young man cries out, "You did what!?"

"Hohoho, that's a good one, I love that look on your face~!", the large chested woman squeels with glee as she reels back with a hearty laugh at her partner's expense.

The General also lets out a soft chuckle at the duo as she returns to her book and says, "Yes, she figured that even though you would want to find your Imperial Arm, your main limitation was your respect for other people's boundaries. So the best place to hide it was your with Leone's undergarments."

Minazuki, however, doesn't think it's so funny as he furiously points at the blonde with one of the gauntlet's fingers as he scolds her, saying, "You hid my Imperial Arm in your underwear drawer!? Of all the places to hide them, with your underwear!?" As he stops to think about the situation, his complete fury dies down into a somewhat hysteric laughter as he hangs his head in shame. "I never even considered it! I completely fell for it! I really have lost my edge...", he chuckles at his own expense with a slight smile forming on his face.

"Well, I'd suggest getting yourself back into shape before you die of boredom. So, what are you waiting for? Puttem' on.", the General orders as she crosses her leg back over her other one and returns to her seemingly peaceful book-reading.

With that, Minazuki dawns the mighty gauntlets oncemore, and much to his surprise, as he clenches and unclenches his hands, he feels nothing. As a wave of despair begins to drown him in sorrow, he hears a faint voice call out to him, a familiar voice that growls, "Mortal..."

" _Quake!?_ ", he mentally gasps at the sound of the God's voice quietly echoing through his mind.

"Ah, to hear that grating voice of yours oncemore, it's almost a blessing after this long silence.", the God somewhat playfully chuckles with his deep voice demanding his attention.

The two put their conversation on hold for the moment as Minazuki walks out of the room and tells the two women, "I'll be downstairs if anyone needs me."

And as the newly reunited duo heads down a flight of stairs, Quake calmly notes, "We have a lot of catching up to do."

* * *

As Minazuki reaches the training room, he looks around to see there is a series of sturdy looking equipment spread across the room including; a set of pull-up bars of different heights, a few weights of varying different weights, a tan leather sandbag that's hanging in the center of the room, and a lone human-shaped dummy covered in slashes and even missing a chunk of his head. As he walks across the bare dirt making up the floor, he hears Quake notes in his usual stern tone, "To think you would take so long to recover from something as minor as that, you mortals never fail to surprise me with your failures."

" _What exactly was that anyways?_ ", Minazuki questions the God as he makes his way over to the weights and lifts one of the forty pound weights, struggling to keep a consistent pace as he goes through his reps in his still-weakened state.

While the boy starts his exercise, Quake goes on to answer his question, telling his young partner, "When you finished your battle with that girl you fell into complete despair, losing your will to fight and causing yourself to be unable to fight. I couldn't exactly let you die, not with you being my conduit and all, so in a last-ditch-effort I forced you into a temporary melding. Since it was such a rushed melding, it put a sever strain on your body while also only using about half of my real power."

" _I only remember bits and pieces of everything, but that power...it was incredible._ ", Minazuki notes in amazement as he recalls the devastation that Quake caused during his fight with Kurome.

Hearing the boy's complement, the dragon lets out a cocky snarl and warns the boy, saying, "Don't go getting your hopes up, Mortal. Trying to harness that much power in your current state would be nothing but a death wish. Your body could barely handle it when it was at its peak condition a month ago, there's no hope of you being able to handle it in your current condition."

" _But now we have a way to fight Esdeath, I can't just ignore it! If it gives us even the slightest advantage against her then it's worth the price. If I have to sacrifice my body to help end this war, I'll gladly do it._ ", Minazuki passionately proclaims, willing to risk it all for the Revolution.

As he hears the boy's reckless and self-destructive thoughts, the God growls back, "Stop acting so foolish, I only said it would be impossible as you are now. If you were to work hard enough to better synchronize our wavelengths and improve your overall stamina, we could be able to hold that form for at least for a moment."

This seems to ignite something in the young man, almost like stoking a fire that had nearly been snuffed out, his heart begins to burn with a radiating passion as he focuses on his new goal: temporary melding. " _Okay, so it is possible then. That just leaves one question: what do I need to do inorder to get in that state?_ "

Feeling the warmth of his partner's burning passion, Quake lets out a light chuckle before confidently answering, "I've been thinking about that for a while, but it won't be easy, not by a long shot. You won't just be training your body like most mortals do inorder to build up stamina to use their Imperial Arms, this will require you to not only train on both a physical and mental level but also require the both of us to come to a better coexistence."

" _A coexistence?_ ", Minazuki mentally questions as he returns the weight back to its spot with the other equipment.

"Yes, if my assumptions are correct then we will need to harmonize our own existences with one another. In a way, that is what Melding is at its core, so it would make sense that we would have to meet these requirements if we wish to perform this on a more reasonable level.", the dragon thoroughly explains to his conduit, his voice seeming somewhat calmer than his usual thunderous tone.

Minazuki then sits down on the thick, soft mat sprawled on the ground before crossing his legs, shutting his eyes, and slowing his breathing. As his breathing continues to slow down, he mentally calls out to Quake as he thinks, " _Then we should get started on that then, shouldn't we?_ "

Quake lets out a hearty laugh at him before somewhat pleasantly noting, "You don't waste any time now, do you? Very well, I'll grant you access to my world for the moment, but once we start this...there's no going back."

And with his heart calmed and his mind cleared of all distractions, the composed fighter tells his dragonic partner, " _I'm ready._ ", before feeling himself being surrounded by an endless void of emptiness.

* * *

As Minazuki opens his eyes, he finds himself in Quake's realm standing at the peak of a lifeless mountain looking over the barren land, but it's somewhat different from the last time he was invited into this strange wonderland. When he looks around at the open world, he sees that the terrain is covered in large cracks and deep fissures along with the very sky itself seeming to be falling apart at the seems. "What happened..?", the boy mutters to himself as he's washed over in confusion.

The only thing that pulls him out of his baffled state is the sound of Quake's thunderous voice as he calls out to him from up above, shouting, "What do you think you're doing standing idly by!? We have no time to waste taking in the sights!"

"Did something happen here too? It looks like everything's falling apart.", Minazuki questions his partner as he turns around to see the dragon standing behind him with a stern scowl on his face.

As the towering dragon waves away the inferior mortal's worries with his large front right claw, Quake lets out a confident chuckle before telling him, "This? It's merely a scratch. It will repair itself in due time. Like I said however, we do not have the time to worry about such things. Right now we have to focus all of our efforts on achieving a proper melding." The dragon swiftly slams his tail against the mountain top, causing the earth to tremble in fear before a wide bridge erupts from the ground, creating a divine path down to the world below wide enough for even Quake to cross without any issues. With a gentle tilt of his head, Quake motions for Minazuki to follow along as he starts the trek down the bridge as he says, "Now come, if we must do this, then we should do this where it all began. We can talk along the way."

Nodding in agreement with the God, the curious young man follows close behind as Quake makes his descent.

"In order to form a stronger mental link we will need to be one in the same. Our very thoughts themselves must be in perfect harmony or else this whole plan will fall apart.", Quake calmly explains as he easily makes his way down the bridge, all while Minazuki desperately tries to keep up with his much longer strides. As he glances back to see the boy struggling to keep pace, he gives the ground a light tap from the tip of his tail, causing a plate from the bridge to rise up from under Minazuki's feet and float along side the God at an significantly easier pace. With the stone slab floating a few feet away from his rocky face, Quake glances over to Minazuki and bluntly asks, "What is it you plan to do, Mortal?"

With a confused tilt of the head, Minazuki turns to Quake as he curiously replies, "What do you mean?"

"Once this war is over and this Empire is toppled, what is your next move? What will you do after this fight is over?", the God retorts as he stabs through the man's soul with a razor sharp glare.

This catches Minazuki off guard, causing him to pause and think for a moment before giving an empty-hearted answer, saying, "I don't know, I guess I'd be helping build the new Empire under the Revolution's new rule."

As soon as the words leave the young man's lips, Quake lets out an obnoxiously loud laugh, mocking him for his short-mindedness as he chuckles, "Your foolishness never ends Mortal! To think you would have such short sights, how pathetic!" After finishing his relentless laughter, Quake shifts his gaze back over to the confused mortal as he lightheartedly informs him, "This world is one that has fallen deep into darkness and corruption. Even if you topple this Empire and rebuild it in its purest form, corruption will continue to rein supreme elsewhere. Saving only one nation will not fix that in the slightest."

"So what you're saying is that it's meaningless then..?", Minazuki depressingly asks as he hangs his head in dismay with an unrelenting aura of defeat engulfing him.

With a sharp smirk across his face, the dragon confidently replies, "Not quite, Mortal. The goal itself isn't completely laughable, but your sights are far too small! You must look at the bigger picture!"

"So what you're saying is-", Minazuki begins to say as he starts to understand what Quake is implying before the God courageously roars out, "Exactly Mortal! To purge the darkness from this Empire is not enough! We must aim higher, as high as the stars themselves! Yes, together we shall purify this entire world of the evil that corrupts it and bring about a new order!"

Minazuki is left completely astonished, reeling back with his eyes widen in complete disbelief, as he gasps, "The entire world!? Is that even possible!?"

"There is a way, however, there's a slight problem with this plan.", the God explains with a hint of dismay in his voice as they finally reach the end of the bridge and the stone slab gently descends down to the ground.

"A problem? But you're a God, what could be a problem for you?", Minazuki curiously asks as he raises an eyebrow at the dragon.

"It's only a single problem, but it is a massive one that's been haunting the deepest parts of my thoughts for the last thousand years. One of my siblings, a fellow God created by Mother, God of the ever-consuming flames and bringer of destruction, Shol.", the God eerily explains as the ground begins to rumble under their feet. As the ground continues to tremble, a large statue of a mighty looking dragon with its wings spread wide into the air with a scaly hide as dark as the infinite emptiness of space with an ominous glowing red light subtly radiating from underneath like a relentless flame that's moments away from rupturing through. "After Mother left us to rule over this land as we thought fit, we divided up the lands to those who best fit which environment. Over the years however, Shol grew tired of silently controlling what land he had and having to peacefully watch over Humanity, so he plotted in the shadows before making an attempt to decimate the other Gods.", Quake continues his story as he walks over to the statue, standing next to it as it easily matches his height at head level and even beats him by a wide margin with its extremely long, curved horns along the sides of its head.

"So he tried to rule over the other Gods?", Minazuki asks with a confused gaze to which Quake firmly shakes his head no.

"Shol was never one to lead, he can only destroy. Like a raging volcano he consumed everything in his path in search for power and dominance. His goal, if you could call it one, was to absorb all of the other Gods into himself and use our united power to lay waste to all of Mother's creations.", Quake vividly explains as he forms four more gigantic statues that match his size, each shaped in the form of each of his fellow Gods. As he turns his sights over to the long, leviathan-like statue, he goes on with his story, explaining, "His first target was Aquarius, she spent most of her time slumbering at the bottom of a great lake. When he attacked she should have been able to take advantage of his weakness to water, but he'd planned for that already. He used his immense flames to evaporate all of the water in the nearby area, turning the lake into nothing more than a barren canyon and molten lava. In those conditions, there wasn't any hope of her survival, it was a total defeat and with her power he even caught Befalla's ire. With both Akatsu and Raii on my side and Befalla wanting Shol's entire body torn to pieces, we were able to subdue him with our combined power and sealed him away from the rest of the world inside the deepest part of the earth under the highest mountain and frozen over with a thick ice said to never melt. There was no escape."

"So what's the problem then? If he's sealed away then-", Minazuki begins to ask before Quake quickly cuts him off by growling, "He disappeared." Minazuki's eyes widen in complete dismay as he gasps, "What?"

"During my time with Shoryu, I had this feeling. I had to check on the seal. And when I went to investigate, there was a deep mine shaft, Man-made of course. But when I reached its end, at the very bottom where Shol was left dormant for thousands of years, I found him, but something was wrong. His 'heart' was torn from his body and all that was left was a husk.", Quake continues to explain in a woeful tone as he hangs his head in despair.

The young man holds out a confused hand to the dragon as he tilts his head and asks, "Then wouldn't he be dead then? If his heart was torn out while he was sealed away like that then there's no way he'd be alive. Unless-", before turning his gaze to the gem in his gauntlet.

"I believe that the Emperor who created the Imperial Arms stumbled across Shol's sealed away body and took him as nothing more than an outstanding Danger Beast. It's likely that through some sort of combination magic and alchemy the powerful mages under his rule managed to use his heart to forge a powerful Imperial Arm much like the one seals me away here. If that is even slightly possible, then Shol will likely take action if anyone attempts to bring true peace to any land he sees. With that left unchecked, this world may never know true peace.", the God finishes as he places a claw on the side of Shol's statue before causing it to crumble apart under his unyielding grasp, turning into nothing more than a pile of rubble with a large red spherical gem standing out among the debree which he pins under his mighty claw.

"So he's likely been forged into an Imperial Arm. There haven't been any powerful fire-based Imperial Arms logged in Shoryu's journal, but I wouldn't be surprised if they made something like that, after all they managed to jam both you and Befalla inside one.", Minazuki sternly replies as he contemplates how another God getting mixed into the mess.

As he presses down on the fallen statue's ominously glowing heart while focusing it down with a relentless stare, the stone begins to crack all over before Quake complete shatters it with his immense pressure. "Even is such a state, Shol is a threat to all living things. Though Befalla concerns me greatly, she's nothing more than a small hindrance in her current state. Though she is a God in all aspects, Esdeath doesn't appear to be one to bend so easily even to one as powerful as her."

"So we should prioritize finding Shol then? If you were able to seal him away in his original form, then surely now that he's been placed inside an Imperial Arm he'll be easier to deal with, right?", the boy suggests as he makes his way over to Quake to see his handie-work.

Much to the boy's surprise however, Quake shakes his no as he begrudgingly growls, "That would only lead the two of us to our graves. On our own we would only be serving ourselves to him on a silver platter, even at half his strength he could easily take on any other God if they were alone."

"Then that's what we'll do! Even without Befalla, we can find the other two Gods and deal with Shol. And if we can get them on our side before we start the final push for on the Empire, they'd definitely be a great help.", Minazuki boldly suggests with a confident smile.

In response, the God can't help but let out a roar of laughter before gladly retorting, "That's an excellent response! But don't expect this task to be anywhere close to simple. When we last fought Shol it was more than a trial gathering the others and getting them to cooperate with one another. In this state I wouldn't be able to sense any of them without being within a few meters of them. And worst of all, if they managed to avoid this fate then we're at a steep disadvantage when it comes to raw power."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's just focus on this melding thing. If we don't get that figured out then we'll have no chance against any of them.", the boy sternly remarks as he stands firm in front of the towering being before him.

And with a silent nod, the God turns away from his conduit and mutters, "Then we shall get started, let's begin in a mutual stomping ground, home?"


	27. Kill the Memories

With a false sun shining down upon them from high up in the sky, Quake and Minazuki are making their way towards a gigantic mountain that looms over the duo. As they continue to approach the towering structure, Quake turns to his partner and boasts, "Mortal, behold this once sacred land! We are home!"

"Home? What do you mea-", Minazuki begins to asks before a sudden trembling starts to rattle the area around them. Right before his eyes, the mountain that seems to pierce even the heavens themselves splits in two, breaking down into two smaller mountains, separating the two with a wide ravine.

As a smug exhale escapes the dragon's nostrils, the God lifts his mighty claw and as he points down the newly formed entry way, he tells the baffled young man, "This was my very first creation. Though I had made many mountains and ravines before this, I only did so to better Mother's world. But this...this was the first time I followed my own desires, the first creation I forged for nothing more than the fact that I wanted to." Without a second thought on anything else, he continues on through his creation with a slight smile filled with nostalgia.

"Your first creation...", Minazuki can't help but gasps in awe as he follows Quake down the path. As they make their way along the path, an odd sensation of warmth and comfort starts to overtake him like a fresh blanket of safety.

Quake notices this and with a light glance over his left shoulder before curiously asking, "You've finally noticed, haven't you?" This causes the boy to stop dead in his tracks as he mutters to himself, "This is...", before Quake cuts him off with a stern, "Yes, this is the same valley Tapu Village once stood, though, as you're seeing it now, no mortal would step foot on this ground for nearly a thousand years. But before all that, there was my temple." With a flick of his claw, the ground begins to rumble and crack before a grand temple erupts from the earth's crust. The temple itself isn't very over complicated in its design, looking similar to a long church made of smooth stone with the only standout design, other than its size, being a single pointed spire at its center. As the duo make their way into the temple, Quake cautiously warns the boy, "Here is where our trial will begin, but know this Mortal, what we are trying to do will require far more focus and heart than any training you've ever gone through at any point in your life."

Without a hint of hesitation, Minazuki clenches his fist with an iron tight grip as he courageously replies, "That doesn't matter anymore. We can't go back now, right? If we're able to assume that Shol is as dangerous as they were when you last fought, then we can't pull any punches. We need this if we want to fight them on equal footing. Not to mention the fact we'll have to confront Esdeath and Befalla sooner or later, so if we're able to access this power then we shouldn't have too much trouble as long as we play our cards right."

Seeing his partner's fearless expression, Quake lets out a satisfied chuckle as he turns to the young man with a slight grin before cheekily retorting with, "Your blind courage is beyond entertaining, Mortal. Though it may be foolish, I'll commend you on that much." As the warm expression fades from his face, Quake sternly adds, "Now, let me tell you a story..." Through a dead silence, the duo continues into the temple before reaching an alter room with a large statue of Quake standing at its center with a stone figure of a woman down on her knees with her hands cupped together and her head tilted down.

"A woman?", Minazuki asks as he takes a look at the human-sized statue.

The God gives the figure a somewhat depressing glance as he begins to say, "As a God, I had quite a devoted following. Countless humans would come to my temple, be it for blessings of power, wisdom, or courage. And with more and more humans populating the area around my temple, I found myself surrounded by a village of followers filled with the most loyal of followers. Over the years however, as humanity would spread their numbers across the land and over the seas, many forgot about my temple." He then lays down to the side of his statue as he continues to focus his sights on the lone statue while he continues on with the story, saying, "After many years, countless humans left my following before eventually everyone had long forgotten about me. But after all this time, she never forgot, she never stopped coming to my alter and leaving offerings."

"She was the last one... What was she like?", Minazuki asks as he sits down to hear the rest of the tale.

Quake closes his eyes as he remembers the countless times she came to visit, the times her sweet, innocent voice tickled his ears, before continuing on, saying, "She was kind, honest, and beyond selfless. Not once did she ever ask for anything for herself, no desire for wealth or good health. In fact, she only made a single request."

"And what was that? Must've been pretty important if she was as selfless as you remember.", the young man questions as he turns to the earthly God with a curious glance.

In response, Quake shifts his sights to the gauntlets upon his partner's arms with a cold glance before answering in a begrudging tone, saying, "Protection, not for herself but for her husband. This was around the time when the Imperial Arms were being forged and her husband was drafted into the Imperial Army. She worried every day that he would one day come across a situation where his tactical mind and quick wits wouldn't be enough to keep him alive and one day she'd be left alone in this world. She offered me everything inorder to protect her beloved, and as my final follower, there was no way I could refuse."

Minazuki's eyes widen as he hears the woman's request before gasping, "So that's how you ended up like this..."

"Yes, late one night on his way home on leave from a long stay in the Capital, I found her husband and struck a deal with him: I would grant him the honor of fighting by my side and he would do his best to watch over his wife. He agreed and after leaving my body here in the temple I gave him my core to use as the base of a new Imperial Arm. Then when he returned to the Emperor and his council with my core, they could sense my outstanding power and rushed to forge me into one of their weapons. And as a reward, they allowed him to join the Empire's most elite task force of Imperial Arms users.", Quake calmly explains as he lifts a head-sized rock up from the ground. He then holds it up to Minazuki and reveals, "But even after many years of serving the Empire and fighting in countless battles in the Emperor's name, after returning home to his wife, he found everything was burnt to ash. From what we managed to put together, a group of young nobles were on a trip across the land and while drunk on power they chose to burn down the village and my temple for entertainment. This was the first sign of the corruption that would start to rot the Empire down to its very core. And from that point forward, he threw away the ties that bound him to the Empire and hunted down those who killed his wife. From that point forward he wasn't a husband or a soldier of the Empire, he was a symbol of revolution, a pillar of strength, and a leader like no other. That man dawned the name...Shoryu.", before a thin layer of dirt and sand slides off of the rock to reveal it to be Shoryu's mask. "Shoryu...He was-", Minazuki begins to mutter to himself before Quake finishes his statement for him, saying, "He was just like you. A bright young man with near limitless potential. That is why I chose you as my partner, your similarities allowed us to get this far.", as he gives the mask to Minazuki. As he continues to look down at the mask with widened eyes tinted with confusion, Quake finishes his story as he calmly notes, "After everything was said and done, Shoryu became a hero to many who feared the tyrannical rule of nearby nobles and turned to him for guidance. This lead to founding of Tapu Village, a recreation of the home he once shared with those he held so dear to him with a shrine to watch over the land and reassure those who chose to follow him that they were safe."

Running his fingers along the front of the ancient mask, Minazuki looks deep into its eye hole, and as he feels an eerie feeling of something staring back at him, he woefully mutters to himself, "We're so much alike...it's almost scary... Even now, I can feel how much everyone's depending on me... I bet that's how he felt back then too. All those innocent people, they're just like all the citizens being oppressed and manipulated by the Empire.", as he starts to see just how similar he is to Shoryu.

"Yes, it's people like that woman, people like Shoryu, and people like you who make this world worth saving.", Quake boldly states with a slight smile, causing the mortal to look up at him with a dazed gaze. "Though I don't particularly like mortals, they do have their own worth in this world. And if I were to just abandon them now in their time of need, Mother wouldn't stop crying.", he somewhat begrudgingly admits as he raises his claw to nervously scratch at his hardened chin.

Before Quake can continue on, Minazuki quickly shouts out, "Then that's what we'll do then, we'll cut away the corruption that's been plaguing the Empire for so long!"

As he hears the courageous mortal exclaim his idea at the top of his lungs, he remembers a time when Shoryu said the same exact thing, wanting nothing more than to purge the land he loved of the blackness that ate away at its beauty. As the line between the two begins to blur and the two mortals begin to look more and more similar to the God, Quake can't help but roar out in a fit of laughter. "Amazing, amazing! You two might as well be the same person! I'd think I was stuck in a repeating nightmare if I wasn't having so much fun!", the dragon roars with an overwhelming wave of amusement as he repeated slams his claw down, causing the whole temple to shake in his laughing fever.

After the God's laughing fit finally subsides, Minazuki lets out a light chuckle before asking, "So, shouldn't we get started on mental training or something?", to which Quake just chuckles.

"What ever do you mean, Mortal? Your training has already begun.", the dragon replies with a sharp, smug grin before Minazuki suddenly feels an overwhelming weight across his entire body like a boulder crushing him with its immense weight, making any attempt he makes to move a struggle. "Since you took your first step into this temple, I have been using the runes I inscribed into the walls to trickle my energy into your mental manifestation of your being. It seems like you're at your limits after only a couple minutes however.", Quake explains with a disappointed sigh.

Before Minazuki can muster up the strength, a familiar voice echoes through the temple, calling out, "Minazuki! You down there?"

"And with that our time is up. You'd best return to reality and deal with that one before she hides me away in her dresser again.", the God grouchily suggests as he places a claw against the immobile boy's chest before sending him off with a gentle, "Now be gone, Mortal!"

* * *

Opening his eyes at the sound of someone calling out his name, Minazuki is instantly confronted by a scowling Leone with her hands firmly placed on her hips as she looks down at him from above. "You better not 've over done it again.", the busty blonde warns him with a snarl as she looks down at him with an irritated glare.

"I wouldn't say I over worked myself, all I did was a light workout before taking a short break... Well, I only meant for it to be a short break, but it looks like I passed out before I could get back to it.", the young man tiredly explains as he sluggishly sits himself up before stretching his arms up in a long stretch accompanied by a long drawn out yawn.

This seems to take a bit of weight off of the lioness' shoulders as a light smile starts to form on her face before she lightheartedly scolds her partner, saying, "Well you can sleep later Sleeping Beauty, the Boss wants us all to gather in the meeting room."

"A meeting? Did something happen?", Minazuki cautiously questions as he reaches out to her with an open hand, which she then grabs before pulling him up to his feet.

Leone gives him a faint shrug of the shoulders, not quite sure what the exact cause might be, before answering, "I don't have the details, but everyone's back from their missions so it could just be a debriefing."

"Well let's hurry then, we don't want to keep them waiting.", Minazuki chuckles before the duo heads up the stairs. After exiting through the basement door and starting to make their way through the hallway however, Minazuki stops his tracks to stare at something.

"Hey, what's wrong?", Leone questions the young man with a concerned gaze, to which she follows his gaze to see what he's staring so intently at; a grandfather clock.

Minazuki can't help but look at the time in confusion, seeing that it's already three o'clock in the afternoon before asking, "I-is this clock broken?"

"No...why?", Leone replies with an equally confused tone, not quite understanding what the clock has to do with anything. "You were down there basically all morning, that's why I thought you overdid it with your workout when I came downstairs to find you. You must've been pretty tired to sleep all that time after sleeping all night.", she cheekily pokes fun at her partner with a light elbow to his ribs before continuing on towards the meeting room.

And as he follows after Leone to the meeting room, Minazuki thinks to himself, " _So I really was out for that long? Even though I'm moving around just fine, everything feels like it's on the brink of falling apart. Maybe I was in that other world for too long...?_ "

" _This is the after effect of just a small portion of my power. Even though your training was done in my world the aftermath will still follow you back into the real world, it's only natural if you'll be using my power in actual fights. As for the large gap of time you missed, time moves differently inside my world compared to the real world._ ", Quake sternly explains inside his partner's skull before suggesting, " _For now, don't worry yourself too much about the time passed and instead focus on the horizon._ "

* * *

Making his way through the bustling crowd of people as he gazes back and forth at the many vendor stands open along the long pathway, Lubbock turns and sits on a nearby wooden bench before pulling out his pocket watch to check the time. As he sees it's ten minutes until noon he calmly checks around, checking every face that walks by with a curious stare. "Looks like I'm a bit early...", the boy mentally notes before resting his back against the cold frame of the bench. Taking this moment to rest, the green-haired boy closes his eyes and draws in a long breath.

In that short moment however, he's caught completely off guard by a sudden voice coming from right next to him that casually asks, "Ready to go?", in a kind and somewhat cute girly voice that he instantly recognizes as Mez.

"I thought I was a bit too early, but it looks like you got here way before I did, huh? Did I keep you waiting?", the boy chuckles before opening his eyes to greet the girl with a heart-stealing smile.

With a faint blush across her face, Mez turns away from the charming young man as she frantically replies, "I-it's fine! I was really looking forward to today, so I left pretty early, but that's enough talking about that, if we just sit around the General might call me back in for guard duty or something." Before her nervousness can overtake her, Mez gathers all of her courage and reaches out to Lubbock as she suggests, "Let's get going...on our date..."

Without a hint of hesitation in his mind, the handsome boy gently grasps the young girl's hand before suggesting, "Why don't we go somewhere to eat? We can get some lunch and maybe after that we'll get ice cream."

As he guides the girl throughout the city, taking her to a splendid cafe where they have lunch and even order some ice cream for dessert before going for a long walk through the town. Finally, at the end of their trek through the town, they find themselves on the outskirts of the village on a small hill overlooking everything in sight with a lone oak tree at its peak. When they reach the towering tree, the couple sits side by side at its roots as they admire the view from so high up. Before long the lucky boy feels a warm hand grab his right hand as Mez gently rests her head on his shoulder.

Before this romantic scene can continue however, Lubbock's reality shatters around him like a broken window as a sharp, irritated voice bust his eardrums, shouting, "Lubbock!"

"What!? I was just getting to the good part!", the young man furiously roars back as he stands up from his seat, slamming his open hands down on the wooden table before him. Now instead of being out on a date with a cute girl, he's actually in the conference room with the rest of the members of Night Raid gathered around the table with mixed reactions to his outburst.

"Stop messing around and get to the point already! Nobody has time to hear about your delusions about getting a girlfriend, and honestly it's pretty creepy even for you.", Mine sternly complains as she firmly crosses her arms over one another while she stares at him with an intense glare.

"I was going to make myself something to eat before getting called into this meeting, so this best be good, Lubbock.", Akame growls with a fearsome gaze of a starved beast.

Not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings, but also wanting things to hurry along, Sheele kindly asks, "Why don't you tell us about the important information first then you can enthrall us with the details about your...date..?"

Knowing deep down in his heart that he doesn't want to agree purely on the basis that this would let Mine get her way, but at the same time feeling the hostile tension aimed his way from the other members he caves in and reveals to the other assassins a small notebook from his jacket pocket. "She gave me this. According to what's in this, Esdeath is planning to double down on her security for Borick's mansion.", Lubbock explains as he hands the notebook off to the Boss. As she flips through the pages, the boy goes on to explain in more detail the specifics of the Imperial General's plans for fortification. "Mez's notes go over the layout of the building, including multiple windows, doors and secret pathways into the mansion, but Esdeath's planning on limiting as many options for entry as possible. Windows and excess doors are being sealed shut and trapped with multiple different kinds of wire and pressure plate traps. And as for those secret passageways like the one leading out to the graveyard, those have already been collapsed so they're completely unusable."

"So what you're saying is that there aren't any ways to get into the damn place, that's nice.", Mine begrudgingly notices as she places her elbow on the table and props her head up under her open palm with a stoic glance off into the distance.

Akame corrects her however, shaking her head in disagreement as she sternly notes, "There's still one way that we could get in.", which earns a confused gaze from the short sniper.

"But how, with all the other doors closed off and every window sealed, there's no way we can get in there without-", Tatsumi begins to ask before Minazuki cuts him off by worriedly noting, "By going through the front door..."

As the words leave Minazuki's mouth the room grows completely silent with nobody muttering even a peep as they look to each other with woeful gazes and looks of confusion before they all turn to Najenda for an answer. The General however isn't nearly as phased as any of them, instead she's calmly pouring over the data in the notebook like the expert strategist she is in one hand as she gently taps on the table with her free metal hand.

"So she's planning to hold up in that mansion until we just give up? You're one of the Empire's finest Generals, but when it comes to defensive strategies you've always been subpar at best, Esdeath.", the wise General mutters to herself in a hushed whisper as she finishes her analyzing the notes. She then close the notebook in her hand before placing down on the table and courageously notes, "Esdeath's leadership skills are among the best in the Empire, when it comes to leading an offensive front there are few that can rival her raw talent, but that mastery will come to be her downfall."

"You have a plan then?", Chelsea asks the Boss with a somewhat surprised gaze, earning herself a hearty laugh from the General.

"Don't I always?", the one-eyed tactician confidently retorts as she stands up from her seat and slams her metal hand down onto the wooden table. She holds her hand out to Susanoo with a smug expression across her face as she tells the Imperial Arm, "Susanoo, pass me the map of the mansion." Without even a word, the loyal right hand frees the map from the pins holding it onto the nearby wall before handing it to the General. With the map now tightly in hand, Najenda spreads it wide open across the table for all to see before explaining, "Throughout my years in the Imperial army I never found someone as ruthless in battle as Esdeath. Her near unrivaled knowledge of the battlefield and relentless nature gives her an outstanding edge when she's on the offensive, but when it comes to fighting on the defensive Esdeath is far less frightening. Though she can likely hold out at a single point as long as she wants, that's her ultimate weakness. Esdeath loves the thrill of battle and the act of shedding another person's blood, so having the thrill of battle being just outside of her reach would drive her mad, so much in fact that if we were to dangle a hot enough battle in front of her for long enough she'd likely abandon her mission for a good enough fight." As she continues on with her explanation she marks off every window and side-door that the map shows, labeling them all as 'no good' before coming to the final entry point: the front door. She then circles the front door as she boldly suggests, "If we can't get to her through her defenses we'll just make her come to us!"

All of her subordination are left baffled by her plan, with the exception of Susanoo who's as calm and collected as ever, before Mine furiously exclaims, "W-what the hell Boss!? You want us to pull a full frontal assault against that woman!? That's impossible, she's too dangerous! We can't take her out on our own, there's no way!"

"Exactly, that's why we're not aiming to beat her, we're just aiming to stall her.", Najenda explains with a confident smirk as she picks up a few chess pieces, a black queen, a black king and two white pawns, and places them on the map. She places the queen at the center of the mansion next to the king while separating the two pawns, placing one at the front of the mansion while the other pawn is off to the side of the mansion. "We'll split up into two teams, one will be a diversion team while the other will be our infiltration unit. The diversion team will fight off the guards protecting Borick and his mansion before Esdeath eventually comes outside to deal with us herself. I will be part of this team along with all of our higher defense members, if she hears that I'm outside there's no doubt she'd rush outside to cut me down.", the General sternly explains as she moves the black queen to the front of the mansion. "Then, once we've finally gotten her attention we'll slowly retreat back into the woods, forcing her to follow us and leave the front door unguarded, and that's where the infiltration team comes into play. Once the front door is left unguarded they'll make their way into the mansion and take out Borick. This team will have to be a small group to avoid the possibility of Esdeath catching wind of them before we strike, so they'll be made up of Akame, Lubbock, Mine, and Sheele. Everyone else, with the exception of Chelsea, will be on the front lines with me dealing with Esdeath."

Before she can continue on with her plan, Sheele raises her hand and curiously asks, "Boss, shouldn't I be on the front lines? Ecstyasy's utility would also be far more useful when the mission is over and we're forced to escape from Esdeath, wouldn't it?"

Much to her surprise, Najenda seems to agree with her, nodding her head yes as she says, "Yes, your Imperial Arm would be incredibly useful in that situation, however I'm more worried about another possible outcome." She then picks up a black pawn, holding it tight in her grasp as she worriedly notes, "We can't easily predict where Esdeath would station them if they weren't in the main chambers guarding our target, and considering that they still have four members; Kurome, Wave, Run and Seryuu, we can't rule out the possibility of all four of them attacking at once." She then places the black pawn next to its queen and suggests, "Maybe they'll follow Esdeath into battle inorder to crush us before we have a chance to make an opening? I doubt it, but it's still possible, more importantly Esdeath could predict our movements and send them to intercept the infiltration team. If that happens they'd need a distraction inorder to let one person slip through and complete the mission, that's where your trump card comes into effect. You'll blind the group in a surprise attack, and in the chaos take out at least two of the Jaegers in the process. If you catch any of them off guard with this they'll likely be unable to properly defend themselves from one of Akame's attacks or a well-placed shot from Mine's Pumpkin."

After hearing Najenda's explanation, Sheele nervously lowers her hand and replies, "My apologizes, I'll do my best Ma'am."

"Whether you have to confront them before or after entering the mansion, Sheele's trump card should be more than able to make an opening for Akame to sneak past and seal Borick's fate, and when that's done and you all are safe from the Jaegers one of you will shoot off a red flare into the sky, this will tell us you've accomplished your mission and are heading to the rendezvous location. Once that's done and we see the signal, all of us will separate and take separate paths through the woods to that point, leaving Esdeath confused and unable to track all of us. And at the end of the day, Borick will be dead and the Revolution will be that much closer to finishing off the Empire once and for all.", Najenda finishes as she knocks over the black king with a flick of her finger. The king falls over and clanks against the hard wood table, the room falls silent as Najenda asks, "Now, are there any questions?" Patiently waiting for any response, Najenda looks around the table as she sees her team's fairly calm and collect, even Mine seems to have simmered down at the Boss' rationalization.

"Good, then this meeting is done. I suggest you all get yourselves into top form for the mission, you'll need to if you plan to live through it.", the General retorts as she lets her stern expression fade into a confident smirk before the rest of her team starts to stand up to leave the meeting room.

"Another well thought out plan as usual, Najenda~", Lubbock praises the cocky General as she sits back in her seat and admires her plan.

" _If I'm being honest, to say I'm asking alot out of them would be more than an understatement. She might just be one person, but this is Esdeath we're talking about here. If we make one wrong move, one missed opening, it's all over..._ ", Najenda ponders as she shuts her eyes, taking these few seconds to rid herself of all the fears that would weight her down and dull her tactical mind. As she opens her eyes to see her subordination and sees Tatsumi and Mine arguing with one another over whether or not Lubbock's story was true, she feels a warm fluffy feeling starting to spread through her body. " _No, one way or another we'll make it through all this together. I'm certain of it..._ ", she mentally corrects herself before returning to her duty as Night Raid's leader and delivering more orders to the group. "You two, if you have time to argue you have time to work. Go do some extra scouting around the town, you can never have too much intel, and make sure that you don't do anything stupid to get yourselves caught.", Najenda scolds the two as she gives them yet another mission for the duo to handle together.

The two look at each other, completely dumbfounded, before turning back to Najenda in unison as they both exclaim, " **What!?** "

* * *

As Najenda continues to scold the two, Minazuki tries to use the commotion to slip by everyone undetected and return to his training, but before he can make his escape someone grabs him by his wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks. When he turns to see who's stopping him he sees a somewhat concerned Sheele with a relentless grip on his arm. "Did you need something, Sheele?", Minazuki curiously asks the silent Sheele as she continues to hold onto his wrist.

"H-how are you doing? I see you're back up and moving again, that's good... Any soreness, any lingering pains or headaches?", the purple haired woman timidly questions the young man as she brushes away some loose hairs that were blocking her sight.

"Not too many...", he worriedly replies as Akame approach them from behind Sheele and Leone walks behind him, stretching out her arm as she places her hand on the door frame and somewhat blocking his escape.

As Akame draws closer, she stoically notes, "We heard about what happened downstairs. Training until your body gives out on you isn't healthy."

"We're not letting you go back down there until we're certain you've at least rested a bit.", the blonde lioness sternly adds as she continues to block any route for him to escape.

Pausing for a moment to plan an escape from this situation, Minazuki hears Quake let out a light chuckle before lightheartedly noting, " _It appears that they've perfectly trapped us. I'd suggest doing as they say, we can return to our training later. Besides, even if we immediately went back to training, you wouldn't be able to work on adapting your body to my power anyways._ "

Seeing no other way, the young man admits defeat as he raises his hands up and replies, "You guys heard about that too, huh? Fine, I'll take a break. What were you guys planning on anyways?"

"Well, you're clearly lacking in nutrients. Your body needs subsistence if you plan on keeping yourself healthy.", Sheele begins to suggest before Akame cuts her off, hitting her fist into her open palm with a ferocious slam before sternly suggesting, "Meat!"

"So we're gonna go make some food, and you're coming with us~!", Leone adds with with a playful snicker as she grabs her partner by the scruff of his shirt and starts pulling him along with her down the hallway as she and the other girls head for the kitchen with Minazuki's heels dragging all the while.

As they continue down the hall, Sheele cautiously explains, "It's too early to make anything like dinner, so we can't go too overboard, but we can make some light meals and have that, so no large meat platters."

Hearing this, Akame takes a deep breath, building up the willpower to push through her crushing feeling of despair at the loss of the great meal she had planned to have before woefully replying, "W-well, this is for Minazuki, so it'll be fine..."

Finally reaching the dinning room and its nearby kitchen, Leone sits her partner down and suggests, "Alright Sheele, lets go make something for us to eat. Akame...make sure he doesn't try anything funny. And if he does, you know what to do."

Akame replies with a silent nod of the head before turning to Minazuki with an intense gaze, locking her eyes onto him and refusing to allow him a second to hide from her sight. As the two leave the room, Akame sits down in a seat across from her target, her unrelenting gaze sending a chill down his spine. For a while, there's a moment of silence between the two as her cold gaze continues to chill the room into an icebox.

" _Even without Leone and Sheele here to help her, I doubt that I could get out of this situation with Akame here. By this point she's probably memorized all of the tricks I have under my sleeves, so even if I wanted to I couldn't get away..._ ", Minazuki mentally notes as he continues to sit idly by with her crimson eyes intently watching everything he does.

As the two continue to wait on the others to finish making their afternoon meal, Akame breaks the silence as she somewhat nervously calls out, "Minazuki..."

The strange tone in her voice catches the young man's curiosity as he raises an eyebrow at her and calmly replies, "Yeah?"

"Do you...remember much of what happened when you saved Chelsea...from my sister?", she timidly questions as she places her hand on her skirt.

"That fight...? Well, I remember a good bit of it. What about it?", he replies as he leans over the table with his elbow firmly placed on the table and his head resting in his open palm.

The nervous assassin starts to rub the fabric of her skirt before she quietly asks, "How was she...Kurome? Was she alright? I talked to Chelsea about this while you were out of commission, and she said that she might've been on something considering the how lethal the attack was that she landed on her, but how was she really? You fought her, so maybe you could've figured something out from how she was fight?"

"How was she...?", he mutters to himself as he closes his eyes inorder to remember what he can from the fight. Recalling the twisted look on her face as the young girl summoned her Trump Card, Minazuki explains, "She had to 've been pretty scared if I'm being honest, her Trump Card was nothing to sneeze at when it comes to raw power, I doubt that I could've taken that thing down on my own. For her to be pushed to the point that she'd have to unleash something like that, she must've been backed into a corner with nothing else that could save her."

This doesn't seem to calm the older sister's nerves however as she tightens her grip on her skirt before worriedly muttering, "I see..."

"She wasn't alone though.", Minazuki adds with a slight smile, causing Akame's grip to loosen as he goes on to explain, "After taking out her Trump Card, I heard one of the Night Raiders looking for her, Wave. Though she still seemed pretty scared, she had a bit of solace in the fact that one of her team members was nearby I guess. And since Wave is such an open book, anyone could tell after a few days with him that if a comrade died in his arms then he'd immediately go into a rage and chase after their killer, so since none of us were murdered by a rampaging fisherman I can at least guess that Kurome is still alive."

Though little, this was still good news to Akame, lightening her worries as she lets go of her skirt and smiles to herself before calming herself with a long exhale and muttering, "That's a relief. Thank you, Minazuki."

"You're still worried about her, aren't you, Akame?", Minazuki cautiously asks, shaking the girl a bit as she straightens up in her seat before hunching over a bit in dismay.

"How couldn't I? She might be our enemy, but she's still my sister. It's just that-", Akame begins to explain as her cold, stoic mask begins to crack with tears starting to well up in her eyes before Minazuki cuts her and says, "You don't want to lose anyone else." Her eyes widen in confusion as he goes on, saying, "When I first learned about Phi being part of the Jaegers, I was torn apart. I knew that she was a target, she was someone we had to get rid of, but every part of my heart wanted me to do everything in my power to bring her back...but in the end I couldn't. If I could go back, I'd probably try even harder to save her, you know?"

Wiping away the tears trickling down her face, a warm smile comes across Akame's face as she full-heartedly replies, "Yeah...I understand that feeling all too well..."

"Alright guys, who's ready for sand-", Leone begins to exclaim as she burst into the room from the kitchen door, holding two large platters loaded with sandwiches of different designs and sizes, before seeing the tears rolling down Akame's face as she mutters out the rest of her sentence, "-wiches..."

Right behind Leone, Sheele tries to make her way through the doorway, hitting Leone with the wide-swinging door before scolding, saying, "Hey, don't just stand there in the doorway. Let me through-", before stopping dead in her tracks as she sees Akame crying.

"Nobody wants to lose anybody else...", Akame adds through her tears as her tears continue to run down her face. Without a second thought, Sheele rushes to Akame's side, wrapping her in a warm embrace before Leone rushes in as well, placing the platter on the table before she wraps the two in her arms as well.

As the three wrap each other in their silent embraces as Akame's tears are wiped away by her loving older sisters as they envelope one another in their family love, Minazuki moves over to their side before taking a sandwich and eating it as he thinks, "It's not too bad to take a break every once in a while..." And as he goes to take another bite, he looks over to the three to see them making room for a fourth person to join into the group hug. Unable to refuse such a warm invitation, Minazuki joins the girls in their embrace as he says, "Don't worry Akame, no matter what happens we'll be there for you."

* * *

Making her way down a simple cobblestone path, Mez is making her way back to the mansion as she looks up to the sky, lazily gazing up at the clouds as she follows the path she's engraved into her mind. " _Damn that Esdeath, if it wasn't for her Night Raid would've already moved to take out Borick and I'd finally be free from this place... Finally free...free to do whatever I want, not just whatever my 'Boss' wants me to do. I can finally fight my fights and choose for myself..._ ", the chocolate colored young woman thinks to herself as she lets out a heavy sigh, stretching her seemingly heavy arms up to the sky as she lets out that long breath.

"There you are...Mez.", an ominous voice calls out to her from up ahead, earning her attention as she glances up the path towards the man looming over her with the sun's rays shining upon his back. As she uses her hand to block the rays that are shining right in her eyes, she sees it's the scythe wielder Horimaka and his Adayusu. "The General sent me out to find you, she was worried you got lured out into the city and got yourself killed. She'll be glad to know you aren't as dull as your fellow Demons I guess.", the figure notes with a wicked smile as he rests his weapon, a long scythe, over his shoulders with its blade pointed straight up at the sky.

"I was just going out on a patrol, there's no need to worry. I can handle myself.", Mez grumbles as she rolls her eyes at him. She goes to pass the guard, but he blocks her path as he takes his scythe and reaches out with it, blocking the road with its long pole as he points its blade at her with an unpredictable intent. "What are you-", she begins to growl before he calmly notes, "You've been going out on your unauthorized 'patrols' quite a lot recently, Mez..."

"What are you implying?", Mez snarls back at the blonde with a burning glare at what she believes he's suggesting.

Tilting his head down so his shades slide down the bridge of his nose, Horimaka meets her glare with a less-than phased glance before sternly explaining, "Isn't it obvious, I think you're plotting something."

This causes Mez's heart to skip a beat, " _D-did he already figure me out!?_ ", she thinks in a panic as a wide grin starts to form on the reaper's face.

"That's why I followed you into the city, to see what exactly you were up to, but I didn't expect to uncover something like this~!", he begins to boast before surprising her by pulling his blade away from her path and returning it back to his shoulders. "I get why you wouldn't want some of the used goods here in the mansion, but if you're gonna go out and try for some tail, just let somebody know, okay?", he chuckles before turning back towards the mansion and heading towards the main entrance.

This somehow catches the Demon even more off guard than directly calling her a traitor would, causing her to scream out, " **Ehhhhhh!?** "

"What? You're not riding that guy's bone yet? I never took you for the delicate type, Mez~", Horimaka continues to poke fun at her expense before swiftly shifting his tone with a push up of his shades as he informs her, saying, "Now, let's head back inside. The General said that when I got you back that we'd be having another meeting. I'm guessing she's got a few more things she wants us to do before we completely lock down the mansion."

With her face still glowing a bright crimson from the overwhelming embarrassment she's been dealt, she frantically chases after the pure white reaper as she asks, "W-w-what else could she possibly want!? We're already barring literally every other opening in the building other than the main doorway on top of trapping them at that! We've gone over countless defensive strategies and possible outcomes! What else could she possibly want to go over!?"

"I dunno, my guess is she's got an ace in the hole. That General, she's a real dangerous one that one.", he swiftly replies as he dismisses her fury with a lazy wave of the hand.

As they enter the building, they're instantly greeted by Run, who seems to have been waiting for them for only a little bit before he says, "Well that was definitely fast. Now that Mez is finally here, we can start the meeting. If we hurry, we might be able to catch everyone before they leave the mission room."

Entering the mission room, they see the remaining members of their team: Wave, Kurome, Suzuka, Seryuu, Koro, and Esdeath, who are all gathered around an ovular table looking over a map of the mansion. "There you are Mez, now that you're here we can finally get this over with."

The three slowly enter the room, and as Run closes the door behind them, Suzuka curiously asks, "So, what's this 'important information' you wanted us to hear, General? We've locked this place up tighter than a nobleman's coin purse and armed our most loyal of guards with as many weapons as possible, what other tricks have you been hiding up your sleeves?"

"It took a lot of energy to do this, but I was able to do it after all...", Esdeath begins to explain as she swallows her pride and admits, "I sent him a message."

"Him?", Kurome asks with a confused glance.

"Another General maybe? Oh, are you talking about the Lightning General, one of the three elemental Generals, General Budo?", Wave asks as he sits up right in his seat, his face just brimming with excitement at the thought of another incredible General on par with Esdeath.

The General shakes her head however, regretfully admitting, "No, there's no hope of getting that man away from that castle, he's not called the Guard Dog for nothing. No, instead I had to send a letter to the worst, most terrible man in the Imperial Military that I know of..."

* * *

Far far off at the Empire's western border, a large army is camped along a cliffside as they overlook a blood-ridden battlefield. At the moment the battle is silent as those who remain are enjoying a hearty bowl of hearty meats mixed in with a thick soup. Out of all of the soldiers enjoying their meal, there's a powerful man letting out an overbearing heavy laugh as he holds his bowl up high in the air. He's a giant of a man, standing nearly seven feet tall in a set of silver armor covering everything but his head, covered by a thick crimson cape wrapped around his neck that reaches down to the back of his knees with its singed, rugged edges. He has spiked orange hair with crimson roots, a stern yet lively face with a sharp jaw and silver eyes. "And then, as the dragon spewed its flames down upon me, I slashed straight through the blaze and cut its head clean in half!", the burly man exclaims with a charismatic aura, causing the soldiers around him to cheer out in an uproar.

As the men cheer at the end of his story, he hears a lone voice calling out to him, shouting, "General, GENERAL!", which causes him to swiftly turn to its source: a lone soldier riding atop a dragonfly danger beast. It's a messenger who instantly dismounts its beast before rushing to the General's side and holding out a pure white note to him as he exclaims, "This is an urgent message for you, General Hitzugaea, sir! It's from General Esdeath!"

" _That woman..._?", he mentally grumbles before swiftly snatching the note from the soldier and inspecting it for the snowflake seal that she's left on the other side, Esdeath's General stamp of urgency.

As he breaks the seal, he reads the message in his head as it says, " _Dear Mongrel, By order of the Emperor I have been ordered to guard a vial man such as yourself to prevent the Revolution from gaining further ground. Though this is an important goal, there is a more important task at hand: the disposal of Night Raid. As you know, Night Raid has been a deadly thorn in the Empire's side for far too long. Though I would like to completely crush them personally, it would be swifter to lay a trap and catch them off guard. As we speak, Night Raid is planning to eliminate the person we're protecting. I have set the trap, and if you'd finally make yourself useful and arrive before the end of the month then we can finally put an end to the group in its entirety. But know this, you may eliminate any and all of their members, but Najenda is to be mine and mine alone._ "

"As vile as ever I see... Very well, I'll be heading out by the end of the day. There's no need to respond, you wouldn't get there before I would anyways.", the General retorts as he crumples up the message from the icy General before tossing it to the ground. "Night Raid...", he thinks to himself as he walks off on his own with a frighteningly smile that shows off his terrifying sharp teeth. And as he enters a large tent, he sits down on the only bed inside before turning his gaze to a long flamburg leaning against the support pillar for the tent as he chuckles, "A wonderful battle is coming, my friend." The flamburg has a dark black hilt and grip with a spherical crimson gem as its pommel and a long wavy blade that burns a bright orange like an open flame.

And as the gem that forms the pommel starts to glow with an ominous aura, a dark gravely voice chuckles before asking, " _Who will we destroy next, Mortal?_ "


End file.
